RaDVaC step-up challenge trial: design and rationale

"The overall goal of RaDVaC is to bridge or minimize the vaccine access gap–to maximize access to safe and effective vaccines as soon as possible in the event of an outbreak. Currently RaDVaC is achieving this goal by the rapid creation and open-source publication of modular vaccine platforms at the beginning of a serious outbreak of a pathogen, for which no good vaccine(s) are yet approved or available. However, this approach is insufficient for population-scale deployments of regulatory body approved vaccines. Therefore, we herein describe an approach for shortening or shrinking the vaccine access gap for population-scale deployments of approved vaccines. In this approach, broad-spectrum vaccines are pre-trialed, approved for safety, and then can be re-tested rapidly for efficacy upon emergence of a novel pathogen within the target family...."