Global Pandemic Preparedness: Optimizing Our Capabilities and the Influenza Experience

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted rapid investigation and deployment of vaccine platforms never before used to combat human disease. The severe impact on the health system and the high economic cost of non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as lockdowns and international border closures employed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 prior to the arrival of effective vaccines, have led to calls for development and deployment of novel vaccine technologies as part of a "100-day response ambition" for the next pandemic. Prior to COVID-19, all of the pandemics (excluding HIV) in the past century have been due to influenza viruses, and influenza remains one of the most likely future pandemic threats along with new coronaviruses. New and emerging vaccine platforms are likely to play an important role in combatting the next pandemic. However, the existing well-established, proven platforms for seasonal and pandemic influenza manufacturing will also continue to be utilized to rapidly address the next influenza threat. The field of influenza vaccine manufacturing has a long history of successes, including approval of vaccines within approximately 100 days after WHO declaration of the A(H1N1) 2009 influenza pandemic. Moreover, many advances in vaccine science and manufacturing capabilities have been made in the past decade to optimize a rapid and timely response should a new influenza pandemic threat emerge.

Keywords: influenza; pandemic; vaccine manufacturing; vaccines.

Figure 1

Timeline of A(H1N1) 2009 pandemic. Pandemic-related events are in red type; vaccine development–related events are in blue type [17,18,27,29,30,31]. ACIP, US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; CDC, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CVV, candidate vaccine viruses; EMA, European Medicines Agency; EOC, CDC Emergency Operations Center; PHEIC, public health emergency of international concern; VRBAC, Vaccines and Related Biological Advisory Committee; WHO, World Health Organization.