Progress of the COVID-19 vaccine effort: viruses, vaccines and variants versus efficacy, effectiveness and escape

• Published in: Nature reviews. Immunology Vol. 21; no. 10; pp. 626 - 636
• Main Authors: Tregoning, John S., Flight, Katie E., Higham, Sophie L., Wang, Ziyin, Pierce, Benjamin F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.10.2021; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/250/590; 631/326/596/4130; Adverse and side effects; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Clinical Trials as Topic; Control; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; COVID-19 Vaccines - administration & dosage; COVID-19 Vaccines - adverse effects; COVID-19 Vaccines - classification; COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology; Drugs; Epidemics; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Immunology; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Pandemics; Progress; SARS-CoV-2 - classification; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; United Kingdom; Vaccine efficacy; Vaccines; Viruses; World Health Organization; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1474-1733; 1474-1741
• DOI: 10.1038/s41577-021-00592-1

Where 2020 saw the development and testing of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at an unprecedented pace, the first half of 2021 has seen vaccine rollout in many countries. In this Progress article, we provide a snapshot of ongoing vaccine efficacy studies, as well as real-world data on vaccine effectiveness and the impact of virus variants of concern. Where they have been deployed in a high proportion of the adult population, the currently approved vaccines have been extremely effective in preventing COVID-19, particularly severe disease. Nonetheless, there are still significant challenges in ensuring equitable vaccine access around the globe and lessons that can be learned for controlling this pandemic and for the next pandemic. This Progress article provides an update on the COVID-19 vaccine effort in the light of ongoing vaccine efficacy studies and real-world data on vaccine effectiveness, including the impact of virus variants of concern and challenges for global deployment.