Grand Challenges in Vaccine Delivery: Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Abstract

The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has come at immense social and economic costs, both to individuals and societies. For vaccine research, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a scienti fi cally highly exciting period with remarkable collaborative achievements, which have been referred to as the medical parallel to the moon landing, and it has underlined that vaccines are as important as ever for global public health care. It is indisputable that vaccines have contributed to reducing deaths and severe illness. The pandemic has provided a unique opportunity for testing and comparing different COVID-19 vaccine platforms which were developed and approved at an unprecedented pace. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, we are moving beyond the emergency response and are adapting to live alongside with the virus, while strategies are being developed for handling the lasting threat of SARS-CoV-2. It is time for re fl ection on what we have learned from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and what grand challenges that must be addressed in the vaccine delivery fi eld. Some of the most important challenges are presented below.Inthe