Deadline extended to 20 September 2024
Issued on: 5 July 2024
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as Members one of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC). This “Call for experts” provides information about the advisory group in question, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Background
The continuous and substantial evolution of SARS-CoV-2 since the virus emerged continues to pose challenges to the ongoing public health prevention and response actions, including ensuring that available COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide protection against severe disease and death. In September 2021, the WHO established the TAG-CO-VAC which is an independent and multidisciplinary advisory group of experts that assesses the public health implications of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines and issues timely recommendations on proposed modifications to vaccine antigen composition.
Functions of the TAG-CO-VAC
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the TAG-CO-VAC has the following functions:
- Make recommendations to WHO on the methods to assess the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on vaccines;
- Provide interpretation of available evidence on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 variants on vaccines, including but not limited to vaccine effectiveness; and
- Recommend to WHO, for each COVID-19 vaccine platform, adaptations (if any) needed so that vaccines continue to safely provide WHO-recommended levels of protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants
The Terms of Reference for the TAG-CO-VAC are available here:
Operations of the TAG-CO-VAC
The TAG-CO-VAC is convened in person every six months. At each meeting, Members will be asked to review the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, immune responses to infection and vaccination, the performance of vaccine products against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and to assess the implications for COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition. Based on these assessments, the TAG-CO-VAC will issue recommendations to either maintain current vaccine composition or to consider updates.
Members of the TAG-CO-VAC are expected to attend two in-person meetings per year (at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, or in another location, as determined by WHO). In addition, Members are expected to attend additional online meetings, convened for two hours approximately every two months. The working language of the group is English.
Who can express interest?
The TAG-CO-VAC is multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to COVID-19 vaccine antigen decisions. Up to 20 Members may be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
- Scientists, healthcare professionals, or others with expertise in the following areas:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Epidemiology
- Regulatory authorization of medical products
- Public health and immunization
To ensure adequate geographic representation, WHO encourages applications from experts from the following WHO regions: African and Eastern Mediterranean regions.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the TAG-CO-VAC, please submit the following documents by 23:59 CEST on 20 September 2024 to tagcovac@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition:"
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, Membership will be in a personal capacity. Therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer);
- Your curriculum vitae; and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at https://covid.comesa.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest.
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests for WHO Experts, and the selection as a Member of a AG is, amongst other things, dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to WHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).
All AG Members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts (https://covid.comesa.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest). AG Members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and the WHO Secretariat to enable WHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant AG.
The selection of Members of the AGs will be made by WHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of AG Members will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by WHO, proposed Members will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a Member of an AG will be subject to the proposed Member returning to WHO the countersigned copy of these two documents.
WHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for WHO's action. WHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the AG, disband an existing TAG or modify the work of the AG.
WHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a Member.
WHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the WHO internet.
AG Members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the AG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of AG Members to participate in AG meetings will be covered by WHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to [tagcovac@who.int] well before the applicable deadline.