CCOUC Director Professor Emily Chan participated in the World Health Organization ad hoc consultation on COVID-19 vaccines – knowledge gaps and research priorities via Zoom on 15 January 2021 to discuss key priority research questions and a research agenda for 2021 that identifies knowledge gaps for vaccines in clinical development phase and those being deployed, and the research priorities for additional COVID vaccines. It also discussed additional steps to ensure further international collaboration supports the coordinated implementation of key research.

The consultation was officiated by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros. It covered COVID-19 transmission dynamics, vaccine efficacy, vaccine safety, duration of protection and its assessment, vaccine delivery under a limited vaccine supply, and the setting up of a global forum where unpublished and published data and research protocols are presented, discussed, and integrated into everybody’s understanding of the current state of vaccines safety and their effects.