Last updated on 16 December 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted numerous research institutes and companies to develop vaccine candidates targeting this novel disease.

This tracker was developed by the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to follow candidates as they progress through the development pipeline. Read our Commentary in Nature Reviews Immunology for further details.


Vaccine landscape

Summary of vaccine candidates and trial timelines


Clinical trials database

Key attributes of registered COVID-19 vaccine trials


Efficacy trial mapper

Map of planned and ongoing efficacy trials


Living review

Published data on safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy


Implementation

Summary of vaccine distribution information


FAQs

More on the vaccine development process









273

vaccine candidates

58

in clinical testing









Colour code for vaccine type
RNA
DNA
Non-replicating viral vector
Replicating viral vector
Inactivated
Live-attenuated
Protein subunit
Virus-like particle
Other/Unknown
Last updated on 16 December 2020.

We currently update the vaccine landscape weekly, pooling the latest information from the WHO, the Milken Institute and clinicaltrials.gov. We are also grateful for additional information provided directly by vaccine developers.

For a copy of the database, or to inform us of a candidate that is not included, please contact vaccines@lshtm.ac.uk.

Last updated on 16 December 2020.

Each week, we search clinicaltrials.gov for studies of COVID-19 vaccine candidates and extract key attributes from the registered protocols. Additional trials are identified using the WHO COVID-19 vaccine landscape. Trials are listed by decreasing size.

Download data


Abbreviations:

aAPC: artificial antigen presenting cell; AZLB: Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical; BIBP: Beijing Institute of Biological Products; BWBP: Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy; CAMS: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; FBRI SRC VB: Federal Budgetary Research Institution State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology; KBP: Kentucky BioProcessing; LV-SMENP-DC: vaccine comprising dendritic cells (DCs) modified with lentivirus (LV) vectors expressing 'SMENP' minigene; PLA-AMS: People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Science; SGMI: Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute; WIBP: Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.




Protocol:
Target N (total):
N doses:
Status:
Start date:

Case counts (rolling 7-day average):
Source for case counts
Developer(s):

Vaccine:

Platform:

Phase:

Number(s):

Location(s):

Primary report:

Publication date:


Last updated on 16 December 2020.

Approach

This living review summarises the available clinical trial data on different COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Since 24 August 2020, we have performed a weekly search of medRxiv and PubMed (see Search log below) using the R packages medrxivr and easyPubMed. Titles and abstracts are screened to identify articles reporting outcome data from human clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

Search term

"(coronavirus OR COVID OR SARS*) AND vaccin* AND (trial OR phase)"

Data extraction

We extract data on the following study attributes:
  • Design: location, number and age of individuals enrolled, vaccine dose, etc.
  • Safety profile: serious adverse events as well as non-serious adverse events with ≥25% prevalence in one or more study groups.
  • Immunogenicity: pre- and post-vaccination levels of antigen-specific IgG (ELISA), neutralising antibody levels against live SARS-CoV-2 and/or pseudoviruses, and/or T-cell responses. We present antibody and T-cell outcomes 28 days post-vaccination or the nearest available timepoint.
  • Efficacy: protective efficacy against COVID-19, severe COVID-19, and/or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Where available, we present the profile (age, ethnicity, and comorbidity prevalence) of the study population, as well as vaccine efficacy estimates stratified by relevant covariates (dose regimen, age group, ethnicity, and presence of comorbidities).
  • Planned next steps for clinical testing and/or manufacture. See Implementation tab for additional details.
Preprints are replaced with peer-reviewed publications when the latter become available.

Eligible studies

Total number of studies included: 21

Abbreviations:

BIBP: Beijing Institute of Biological Products; CAMS: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; WIBP: Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

Notes:

Phase I and phase II data extracted separately for WIBP inactivated vaccine (Xia; JAMA 2020), BBIBP-CorV (Xia; Lancet Infect Dis 2020), and Sinovac CoronaVac (Zhang; Lancet Infect Dis 2020).


Search log




Description of vaccine


Trial attributes


Vaccine efficacy

We present protective efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19, severe COVID-19, and/or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.







Safety profile

We present data on any serious adverse events (potentially life-threatening: requires assessment in A&E or hospitalisation) and common adverse events (≥25% prevalence in one or more study groups) relating to the test vaccine.

Serious adverse events:

Common adverse events (local):

Common adverse events (systemic):


Antibody response

We present antibody levels measured 28 days post-vaccination or the nearest available timepoint. Where multiple types of antibody were measured, we prioritise (i) ELISA for the vaccine-specific antigen; (ii) neutralisation of live SARS-CoV-2; and (iii) neutralisation of a pseudovirus modified to express SARS-CoV-2 antigens.



T cell response



Subgroup analysis



Next steps




Vaccines undergoing phase III efficacy testing are included (see Clinical trials and Trial mapper tabs for further details). Information on storage requirements obtained from Poland et al (2020).

What is a clinical trial?

Clinical trials are research studies that are used to determine if a new vaccine is safe and effective. In our animated video on clinical trials below, we describe the four phases of vaccine clinical trials and the steps it takes to license a vaccine.
  • Phase I is an initial trial with a small group of healthy volunteers and usually takes a few months.
  • Phase II examines consistency of the vaccine, any potential side effects and the presence of immune response expected. This phase can last several months.
  • Phase III gathers robust data on safety and efficacy and can last several years as it usually involves thousands of volunteers.
  • Phase IV occurs after the vaccine is licenced and used in the public. This phase continues for as long as the vaccine is being used in the community and monitors the vaccine’s benefits and any side effects.


What's in a vaccine?

Each ingredient in every vaccine is present for a very specific purpose and our animated video on vaccines below explores what goes into a vaccine and why.

The main ingredient in any vaccine is the antigen, which is a small part of the virus or bacterium being targeted. The antigen is the ingredient in the vaccine that challenges our immune system to generate the right defences. Some vaccines add an adjuvant to the antigen to help strengthen and lengthen your body’s immune response. Stabilisers are used to help the active ingredients to remain effective while the vaccine is made, stored, and moved. Antibiotics and preservatives are sometimes used in the manufacturing process of some vaccines however these elements aren’t in the final vaccine. The patient information leaflet that comes with every vaccine tells you exactly what was used in making the vaccine, what is still in it and how much is in the final product.


How do we know that vaccines are safe?

How safe are vaccines? How do we know that vaccines are safe? Our animated video on vaccine safety below explores the safety measures in place throughout the entire vaccine development process, from the four clinical trial phases and through to the use of vaccines in the community.


What are the different types of vaccine?

All vaccines expose our immune system to antigens from a specific pathogen, but they do this in a variety of ways. A summary of the key vaccine types being developed for COVID-19 is provided in the table below.

For more information, please visit the Vaccine Centre's full FAQs page.