Prioritization of candidate vaccines for international support for further evaluation including Phase IIb/3 randomized clinical trials

Overview

As candidate vaccines advance, practical realities will require a process that focuses global efforts on promising candidates that may have the highest impact. More than 160 vaccine candidates are now in development, with more than 21 candidates in Phase 1, Phase 2 or Phase 3 human clinical trials.

An independent group of experts has developed the proposed attributes and criteria for the evidence based and independent evaluation of all vaccine candidates.

Objectives

The candidate vaccine prioritization working group was up with the aim of establishing an independent process to advise WHO on the selection of candidate vaccine(s) against COVID-19 that should be evaluated first.

The working group is established with a program of work to:

(1) Review the data and information on all candidate vaccines under development against COVID-19 using the a priori defined attributes and criteria;

(2) Provide an individual score for each candidate vaccine and a recommendation on the pertinence of prioritizing one or more given candidates for support and further evaluation;

(3) Provide continuous review (monthly) of the emerging information and evidence on all candidate vaccines.

WHO will consider the recommendations of this Working Group and consult with other pertinent advisory bodies to inform their opinion.