Vaccinations are considered a promising way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although several vaccines are already in use, there are still enormous challenges ahead. For example, because vaccines are not immediately available on a large scale, equitable international allocation must be clarified. Lack of public trust in vaccines is also a problem that needs to be addressed. International experts discussed these issues, as well as the characteristics of the different types of vaccines, on the occasion of an English-language virtual panel discussion on February 3 2021.

Experts:

• Richard Hatchett, MD, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Oslo, Norway
• Ingmar Hoerr, PhD, mRNA technology pioneer and Co-Founder of CureVac, Tübingen, Germany
• Professor Gagangdeep Kang, PhD, member of the INSA, Chair of the Immunization Technical Advisory Group for the WHO South East Asian Region, New Delhi, India
• Professor Heidi Larson, PhD, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom

The event was moderated by Professor Regina T. Riphahn, PhD, Vice President German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and Professor of Statistics and Empirical Economics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

Image: AdobeStock/M.Rode-Foto

© Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina 2021