As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, more attention is turning to vaccine development and its potential to support the response. Based on current estimates, the first vaccines will likely make it through clinical trials and emergency use authorizations early next year – possibly late this year in a best case scenario. Governments, multilateral institutions, and philanthropies have put in place a range of innovative mechanisms for financing, manufacturing, and allocating these vaccines to governments around the world.
As this news has unfolded, we’ve been asking ourselves one question: what should every government be ready to do the day after the world’s first safe and effective vaccine is announced?
We know that vaccines alone don’t save lives; vaccinations do. Every government at every level will have a role to play, including distribution, administration, public engagement and communication, and tracking impact. We know this today, so there is no need to let the news of a vaccine take us by surprise. Now is the time to create a plan and systems for managing vaccine delivery and implementation.
This tool sets out a list of key questions we believe every government will need to answer in order to develop this plan – with a set of measures for tracking progress on each part. It is based on our experience working with governments and public sector health systems to deliver improved patient outcomes, as well as research and consultation with our current partners in governments around the world.
This is a fast-moving topic and will evolve as we learn more about the most likely vaccine candidates. We will continue to update this guidance to reflect what we’ve learned. Check back here in the coming months for the most up-to-date documents.
