On November 4 and 5, 2020 the world’s leading vaccine scientists came together at the COVID-19 Vaccines: Global Challenges and Prospects Forum. The Global Forum was a tremendously successful event attended by over 10,000 people from 94 countries. The Forum provided a hub for 32 leading vaccine scientists to discuss vaccine candidates, make recommendations, and address plans for global distribution and pricing. The Global Forum was organized by an international committee of leading scientists, business leaders, and humanitarians. After the Forum, the organizing committee submitted a manuscript to the International Journal of Infectious Diseases with lessons learned and 16 recommendations. The paper entitled COVID-19 Vaccines: Global Challenges and Prospects Forum Recommendations was peer reviewed and published in the IJID on February 26, 2021.
Recommendation Highlights
1) Diversify Types of Vaccines
2) Consider Using Boosters and Adjuvants
3) Continue to Study the Immune Response
4) Standardize Immunoassays
5) Improve Alignment Between Regulators and Vaccine Developers
6) Increase Transparency in Vaccine Development Strategies
7) Increase Collaboration Between Industry and Academia
8) Enhance Cold-Chain Capabilities in Developing Countries
9) Create a global consortium equipped with AI platform to follow and assess the short and long term safety and efficacy COVID-19 vaccines profiles
10) Increase Investment in Basic Research in Infectious Diseases and vaccines development technologies
* See all 16 recommendations in the IJID
Dr. Mohamed Boudjelal, PhD, Director of Drug Discovery and Chairman of Medical Core Facility and Research Platforms at King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, leads the organizing committee.
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Forum 2020 Recap
The 2020 Global Forum was a tremendously successful international event that included presentations from 32 speakers including:
- Leaders in vaccine development from Moderna Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Vaccines, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/Biontech, Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, and The National Institutes of Health
- Vaccine scientists from Harvard University Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Gamaleya National Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Jazan University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Fahad Medical Research Center, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, and Nova Southeastern University
- Representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Bring Hope Humanitarian Foundation, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), presented their plans for distributing the vaccines to people in need around the world including the low-income countries and developing educational programs to train health workers in immunization procedures.
All lectures, discussions and presentations from the 2020 Global Forum are available on YouTube.
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DAY 2
ABOUT THE PAPER
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Challenges and Prospects Forum Recommendations
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Manuscript Number: THEIJID-D-20-05588R1
Authors and Affiliations
Authors: Dr. Mohamed Boudjelal, Dr. Adrian V.S.Hill, Margaretta Colangelo, Dr. Faisal Almajed, Dr. Ahmed Salman, Dr. Naif Alharbi, Dr. Julia Michelotti, Dr. Gene Olingerd, Dr. Mariwan Baker, Dr. Ahmed Alaskara
Author Affiliations: King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, The Jenner Institute at University of Oxford
The IJID is a peer-reviewed, open access journal published monthly by the International Society for Infectious Diseases. The IJID publishes original clinical and laboratory-based research, together with reports of clinical trials, reviews, and some case reports dealing with the epidemiology, clinical diagnosis, treatment, and control of infectious diseases with particular emphasis placed on those diseases that are most common in under-resourced countries.
Next Global Forum Scheduled For October 2021
The organizing committee plans to host Global Forums annually to encourage good will, transparency, collaboration, and sharing of ideas. The next forum entitled COVID-19: Vaccines, Therapeutics, and Population will take place in October 2021 in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
