The White House held a summit on the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines July 26 during which federal health experts shared their vision for a vaccine that protects against infection from multiple variants, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Three takeaways:
1. Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said public and private stakeholders must partner on the development of two next generation shots: a pan-coronavirus vaccine (or universal vaccine) and a nasal vaccine.
2. The White House's COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, MD, said these goals set an extremely high bar for scientists and vaccinemakers, but underscored the importance of developing more durable vaccines.
"We need vaccines that are broader and offer longer-lasting protection," he said during the summit. "We need a vaccine that can stand up to multiple variants. Ultimately, we need vaccines that can protect us no matter what Mother Nature throws at us."
3. It's unclear whether the federal government would be able to fund development efforts from vaccine makers such as Moderna and Pfizer — which both had leaders attend the summit — as Congress has failed to pass a $10 billion COVID-19 funding deal to support pandemic response activities, U.S. News reported.