What process is followed before a vaccine is given to the public?

Before COVID 19 vaccines can be delivered:

• The vaccines must be to be proven safe and effective in large clinical trials.

• A series of independent reviews of the efficacy and safety evidence is required.

• The evidence must also be reviewed for the purpose of policy recommendations on how the vaccines should be used.

• An external panel of experts convened by WHO, called the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), analyses the results from clinical trials.

• The panel then recommends whether and how the vaccines should be used.

• Officials in individual countries decide whether to approve the vaccines for national use and develop policies for how to use the vaccines in their country based on the WHO recommendations.

All COVID 19 vaccines in use have been approved for emergency use by either WHO or other Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) in manufacturing countries