There have been claims of extraneous influence on the independent and objective judgment of expert advice that in turn influenced decision-making [40] . These claims have been robustly countered as they relate to WHO's advisory and decision-making process [41] . As Harvey Fineberg, chair of WHO's external review, pointed out, when assessing any allegations of impropriety or bias, or the perception of such, it would be important to distinguish between financial or other conflicts with potential pecuniary gains versus predispositions arising from an individual's background and experience. Rather than aiming for a complete purge of any and all experts who had worked with vaccine manufacturers and received sponsorship, as these are often the very same group who possess the most relevant and useful expertise precisely because they have been closely involved in the research and development process, the focus should be on making the declaration of such interest wholly transparent and comprehensive according to a set of robustly established procedures that can withstand the strictest scrutiny. It is reassuring that WHO has honoured its commitment to making public the names and declarations of interest of the pandemic Emergency Committee when the pandemic was declared over on 10 August 2010. Additionally, receiving advice should be differentiated from making decisions. The people entrusted with undertaking the latter task should then judge the validity of the advice rendered by experts, having taken into account their interest declarations. The decision makers should also be prepared to justify their actions.