Effective and secure vaccines against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 – alongside better treatments – are the most promising way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several vaccine candidates have already received use authorization, many more are under development and are being tested in clinical trials. However, there are still huge challenges ahead: Even after approval, vaccines will not be available on a large scale immediately. Challenges range from manufacturing bottlenecks and complex logistic requirements like consistent cold storage to the provision of sufficient vaccination facilities with an adequately trained health care workforce. Challenges like vaccine prioritization or inequities in terms of global allocation must be met. How to build public trust to reach the necessary level of immunity in the population or how to deal with potential misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines are other questions that need to be addressed.

This virtual panel discussion explores approaches to address these challenges in COVID-19 vaccination from a scientific perspective. The event is jointly organized by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA).

INSA and Leopoldina welcome the following experts to the podium:

• Professor Regina T. Riphahn, PhD, Vice-President of German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (host)
• Professor Gagandeep Kang, PhD, Chair of the Immunization Technical Advisory Group for the WHO South East Asian Region, Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
• Richard Hatchett, MD, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
• Professor Heidi Larson, PhD, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
• Florian von der Mülbe, MBA, PhD, Chief Production Officer and Co-Founder of CureVac, Germany

This panel discussion is part of the Leopoldina International Virtual Panel Series. In July 2020, the Leopoldina launched a virtual format for global scientific exchange: Leopoldina International – a series of online panels organized by Leopoldina’s International Relations Department in cooperation with its international partners. Leopoldina International offers a virtual room for the global scientific community to convene and for the interested public to join the dialogue with scientists. Previous topics have been “COVID-19 and Multimorbidity: How to Deal with Multiple Infectious Diseases in Parallel?”, “The Hidden Crisis: Mental Health in Times of COVID-19” and “Contact Tracing Apps: Promising Tool in the Fight Against COVID-19?”.