An ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will describe the current global governance landscape for influenza vaccines and vaccination; analyze the effectiveness and replicability of global coordination and financing models formed in response to recent viral pandemics and epidemics; and provide recommendations for governance frameworks, partnerships, and financing mechanisms that may promote sustainable influenza vaccine preparedness and response. The result of this study will be a report on the current barriers to effective global coordination and sustainable financing for seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines and vaccination, and the ways in which innovations and lessons learned from the COVID-19, Ebola, and H1N1 responses may address these barriers.
Specifically, the committee will:
1) Review existing global governance frameworks, partnerships, and intergovernmental treaties (e.g., Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework and International Health Regulations) for seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine development, manufacturing, and distribution, particularly those developed in response to H1N1, and identify any major barriers to the sustainable implementation of these frameworks and partnerships;
2) Review multilateral responses and public-private partnerships developed and implemented during COVID-19 (e.g., ACT Accelerator) and other viral outbreak events (e.g., Ebola epidemic), and highlight any approaches (e.g., research and development, liability frameworks, distribution, and innovative business models) that may confer significant advantages for national preparedness and regional and global coordination of seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines and vaccination;
3) Drawing on the above reviews and the benefits and challenges presented by relevant global frameworks (e.g., Nagoya Protocol and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework), propose practical and feasible recommendations for sustainable governance frameworks and coordination mechanisms to increase global and regional preparedness for influenza; improve international influenza vaccine research, manufacturing, and equitable distribution and access; and address global challenges such as vaccine confidence;
4) Review the theoretical basis of incentivizing vaccine research, manufacturing, and distribution within the pandemic preparedness context, and identify any relevant examples of the successful and sustainable design and use of incentives, particularly for low-resource settings;
5) Provide recommendations for the contexts in which specific financing strategies and mechanisms (e.g., incentives, risk pooling, and trust funds) can be sustainably adapted. These mechanisms will ideally encourage national investment in pandemic influenza preparedness and response, while optimizing the effectiveness of development assistance for health.