There are indications that some companies may be expediting the approval of COVID-19 vaccines, sometimes with subpar effectiveness, in response to pressure from governmental organizations. The approval of such vaccines may display short-term benefits, however, it will dissuade other companies and institutes from developing more effective vaccines if a significant proportion of the population has already been vaccinated, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.  It is imperative that regulatory agencies ensure any vaccine candidate demonstrates a more than adequate safety profile before being moved to production.

Mohamed Abukar, MSc, GlobalData Clinical Trials Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “While some regulatory criteria have been relaxed to expedite the authorization process, the first vaccine to market will have had to pass the most stringent guidelines relative to future COVID-19 vaccine approvals to prove that subjects have developed protection against COVID-19 and not relied solely on biomarkers indicating immunity – though subsequent vaccines may be granted expedited approval based on blood biomarkers as the required biomarker profile for immunity would have then been established.”