Table 8

Questions and considerations in case a COVID-19 vaccine is developed

QuestionConsiderations
If a vaccine is developed?
  • What type of vaccine will it be (live/non-live, classic killed, DNA, or recombinant)?

  • Will it need special manufacture and transport conditions (such as cold chain)?

  • How robust will be vaccine-acquired immunity? After how many doses?

  • How protective will it be against infection?

  • For how long will vaccine-acquired immunity last? And hence: how often will the vaccine have to be administered? Only once? Or yearly?

  • Will there be any adverse effects?

Acquired immunity is not very strong; hence, what is the consequence regarding herd immunity?
  • To achieve herd immunity, how efficient will the vaccine need to be?

  • What proportion of the population (critical population) will need to be vaccinated?

  • How long will it take to effectively vaccinate the critical population?

  • Will vaccination be acceptable in the population? Or will vaccine hesitancy reduce uptake?

What are the socioeconomic implications?
  • Which countries will get the vaccine first (implications for LICs/LMICs)?

  • How expensive will the vaccine be?

  • Will vaccination be made mandatory, especially for international travel?

  • LICs/LMICs, low and lower middle income countries.