Conversations and healthy debate about issues facing our industry and the health care system are critical to addressing some of today’s challenges and opportunities. The Catalyst welcomes guest contributors, including patients, stakeholders, innovators and others, to share their perspectives and point of view. Today, we are pleased to welcome a guest post from Abby Bownas, manager, Adult Vaccine Access Coalition to discuss the importance of COVID-19 vaccine development.
The emergence of a novel coronavirus in December 2019 took much of the world by surprise and its rapid spread forced many of us to drastically change the way we live. Even as stay-at-home orders are lifted and restaurants and businesses begin to reopen, rising COVID-19 infections will remain a risk until vaccines are developed. Fortunately, the infrastructure is in place to allow for advanced manufacturing and critical technological developments that will allow the development and manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine to take place with unprecedented speed. Applications for approval must meet FDA’s robust standards for safety, purity and potency, and include data generated during pre-clinical testing and clinical trials, in addition to significant information on the manufacturing process.
