Real-World Evidence: CDC Prioritizing Populations, Outcomes For COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Studies

29 Sep 2020

Strategy for assessing how the earliest vaccines to reach market perform beyond clinical trials includes leveraging existing surveillance and data platforms, and employing a diversity of study approaches, CDC epidemiologist says; high-priority areas for study include protection against symptomatic illness among health care workers and prevention of severe disease in the elderly.

Vaccination against the new Corona Virus SARS-CoV-2: A syringe being drawn up with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. — CDC is preparing to meet an 'urgent need' for real-world COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness data. • Source: Shutterstock

As the most advanced COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the US approach their Phase III enrollment targets, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government health agencies are prioritizing populations and outcomes for real-world effectiveness studies that will begin once the vaccines reach market.

The strategy for assessing how the earliest vaccines perform beyond the confines of a clinical trial setting includes leveraging existing...