COVID-19:  The Search for a Vaccine

Ep2: Vaccine and Trial Safety

<p>In the second episode, Neil McNeil talks to Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccine Task Force, Dr. Jonathan Sheffield, National Institute for Health Research/Department of Health and Social Care COVID-19 Liaison Director for Research, and Dr. Phil Bryan, Head of Vaccine Safety at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, about how safety is controlled in the process of developing and testing a potential vaccine, and how to communicate with and reassure people who may be reluctant to take a vaccine or volunteer for trials.</p>

“COVID-19:  The Search for a Vaccine” is a series of podcasts which throws light on the work of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce in co-ordinating and expediting efforts to protect the UK against COVID-19 through vaccination as quickly as possible.  The series looks at the most promising research; the different approaches to producing a vaccine; and how suitable vaccines are identified and acquired.  What are the greatest obstacles?  What steps are being taken to ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity?  Working at speed, how can we be sure that trials – and any vaccine - are safe?  These and other questions will be put to the leading experts in the field, episode by episode, as the international effort to produce a vaccine continues.