page_title: COVID-19 vaccine
section_title: National governments
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 vaccine / Global development / National governments
caption_attribution_description: This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report: &lt;a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-583SP" rel="noreferrer nofollow"&gt;www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-583SP&lt;/a&gt; SCIENCE &amp; TECH SPOTLIGHT: COVID-19 Vaccine Development
context_page_description: A COVID‑19 vaccine is a biotechnology product intended to provide acquired immunity against coronavirus disease 2019. As of August 2020, there were 233 vaccine candidates in development, although no candidate has completed clinical trials to prove its safety and efficacy. In August, at least 27 vaccine candidates were in clinical trials, with six beginning Phase III and 21 still in Phase I–II.
  Previous work to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus diseases SARS and MERS established considerable knowledge about the structure and function of coronaviruses – which accelerated rapid development during early 2020 of varied technology platforms for a COVID‑19 vaccine.
  The World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the Gates Foundation are committing money and organizational resources for the prospect that several vaccines will be needed to prevent continuing COVID‑19 infection. The CEPI, which is organizing a US$2 billion worldwide fund for rapid investment and development of vaccine candidates, indicated in April that a vaccine may be available under emergency use protocols in less than twelve months or by early 2021.
context_section_description: National governments dedicating resources for national or international investments in vaccine research, development, and manufacturing beginning in 2020 included the Canadian government which announced CA$275 million in funding for 96 research vaccine research projects at Canadian companies and universities, with plans to establish a "vaccine bank" of several new vaccines that could be used if another coronavirus outbreak occurs. A further investment of CA$1.1 billion was added to support clinical trials in Canada and develop manufacturing and supply chains for vaccines. On 4 May, the Canadian government committed CA$850 million to the WHO's live streaming effort to raise US$8 billion for COVID‑19 vaccines and preparedness.
  In China, the government is providing low-rate loans to a vaccine developer through its central bank, and has "quickly made land available for the company" to build production plants. As of June 2020, six of the eleven COVID‑19 vaccine candidates in early-stage human testing were developed by Chinese organizations. Three Chinese vaccine companies and research institutes are supported by the government for financing research, conducting clinical trials, and manufacturing the most promising vaccine candidates, while prioritizing rapid evidence of efficacy over safety. On 18 May, China had pledged US$2 billion to support overall efforts by the WHO for programs against COVID‑19. On 22 July, China additionally announced that it plans to provide a US$1 billion loan to make its vaccine accessible for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. On August 24, China announced it would provide five Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam priority access to the vaccine once it was fully developed.
  Among European Union countries, France announced a US$4.9 million investment in a COVID‑19 vaccine research consortium via CEPI involving the Institut Pasteur, Themis Bioscience (Vienna, Austria), and the University of Pittsburgh, bringing CEPI's total investment in COVID‑19 vaccine development to US$480 million by May. In March, the European Commission made an €80 million investment in CureVac, a German biotechnology company, to develop a mRNA vaccine. The German government announced a separate €300 million investment in CureVac in June. Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands have been major contributors to the CEPI effort for COVID‑19 vaccine research in Europe.
  In April, the UK government formed a COVID‑19 vaccine taskforce to stimulate British efforts for rapidly developing a vaccine through collaborations of industry, universities, and government agencies across the vaccine development pipeline, including clinical trial placement at UK hospitals, regulations for approval, and eventual manufacturing. The vaccine development initiatives at the University of Oxford and Imperial College of London were financed with GB£44 million in April.
  The United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a federal agency that funds disease-fighting technology, announced investments of nearly US$1 billion to support American COVID‑19 vaccine development, and preparation for manufacturing the most promising candidates. On 16 April, BARDA made a US$483 million investment in the vaccine developer, Moderna and its partner, Johnson & Johnson. BARDA has an additional US$4 billion to spend on vaccine development, and will have roles in other American investment for development of six to eight vaccine candidates to be in clinical studies over 2020–21 by companies such as Sanofi Pasteur and Regeneron. On 15 May, the US government announced federal funding for a fast-track program called Operation Warp Speed, which has the goals of placing diverse vaccine candidates in clinical trials by the fall of 2020, and manufacturing 300 million doses of a licensed vaccine by January 2021. The project chief advisor is Moncef Slaoui and its Chief Operating Officer is Army General Gustave Perna. In June, the Warp Speed team said it would work with seven companies develop
caption: US Government Accountability Office diagram comparing a traditional vaccine development timeline to a possible expedited timeline
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