28 April 2020 - - Global nonprofit consortium The Human Vaccines Project is launching the COVID Vaccine Initiative, with the goal to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible vaccines for those most vulnerable to COVID-19, the group said.

The focus will be on accelerating vaccine development for aging populations and those living in low- and middle-income countries.

The CVI will leverage HVP's world-class network of scientists, partnerships with vaccine developers, as well as the newly established collaboration with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health focused on generating effective immunity in aging populations.

Founding partners of the initiative include FHI 360, a global nonprofit research and human development organization, and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, a leading research and policy organization.

The CVI's Advocacy and Policy program will serve as a neutral forum for dissemination and synthesis of critical information and data relevant to accelerating vaccine development.

The program will develop a roadmap to ensure that the major R and D challenges impeding the development of safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are addressed.

The CVI will continue to produce the weekly HVP COVID Report, reaching more than 7,000 global scientists and policymakers. The upcoming web-based CVI-Global Lab Meeting, beginning in May 2020, will bring together the global COVID-19 vaccine scientific community to review the latest data on a biweekly basis.

Moreover, the CVI will also address key policy issues such as ensuring manufacturing capacity for efficacious vaccines, and equitable access and rapid deployment of licensed vaccines to vulnerable population groups.

The CVI will also provide a framework for addressing future pandemics that affect those most vulnerable. The world's population is aging at an unprecedented rate, with significant growth occurring in LMICs, increasing vulnerability to emerging infectious diseases, and the burden of non-communicable diseases.

Deciphering the principles of effective immunity in aging populations and those living in LMICs will have profound implications for global prevention and control of disease.

The Human Vaccines Project is a nonprofit public-private partnership with a mission to decode the human immune system and accelerate the development of vaccines and immunotherapies across major global diseases.

The Project brings together leading academic research centers, industrial partners, nonprofits and governments to answer core questions about how the human immune system fights disease and pioneer a new era in human health.

FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions.

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy is a in addressing public health preparedness and emerging infectious disease response. Founded in 2001, CIDRAP is part of the Office of the vice president for Research at the University of Minnesota.