Were COVID-19 vaccines developed too quickly to be safe?
COVID-19 vaccines have been developed without compromising quality, safety and effectiveness.
It may appear they have been developed very quickly, but researchers around the world have been working hard to develop COVID-19 vaccines from the earliest stages of the pandemic.
They have been able to speed up development of vaccines thanks to the collaboration between them, scientists, manufacturers and distributors.
The development and implementation planning phases have been run side-by side, instead of one after the other. This has been made possible because of unprecedented global funding.
In addition, research into how to respond to a pandemic has been occurring long before COVID-19.
This research looks at data from previous coronaviruses such as SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, giving researchers a head start when it comes to building the COVID-19 vaccines.
In Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, or the TGA, has been rigorously assessing the potential COVID-19 vaccines for safety, quality and effectiveness. They will continue to do this with all vaccines before they will be approved and made available to Australians.
Once approved, each batch must also be checked to make sure it meets the same quality standards.
With new COVID-19 vaccine developments every day, it’s normal to have questions or concerns, and possibly feel hesitant about getting a vaccine. That's why we're providing accurate, evidence-based answers to questions about COVID-19 vaccines.