Preparing the public for COVID-19 vaccines

ABSTRACT

[...]as has been shown in previous mass vaccination programs, planning for vaccine program rollout and community engagement to optimise vaccine confidence and uptake in Australia needs to commence beforehand, not when the vaccines become available.5 Consistent with its existing role in vaccination programs, primary care professional are anticipated to play a key part in educating patients and carers about the vaccine, administering the vaccine, recording uptake and reporting adverse events following immunisation. There are currently 17 vaccines in phase I trials and 10 vaccines in phase II/III clinical trials (28 August 2020).6 Traditional vaccine development is a lengthy process, usually taking 10-15 years or more, with a distinct, linear sequence of steps and high attrition rate.7 The usual steps include pre-clinical development, safety testing (phase I), safety and immunogenicity testing (phase II) and then safety and efficacy testing (phase III), prior to licensure, production at scale and introduction into the population (Figure 1). Comprehensive post-marketing surveillance to track vaccine safety for these expected adverse events, as well as to detect postulated rarer adverse events such as antibody-enhanced disease, will also be essential to maintain vaccine confidence and achieve high vaccine acceptance and uptake. The WHO10 and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practice (ACIP)11 are currently advising a risk- and aged-based approach for prioritisation of COVID-19 vaccine target groups.