Fast Tracking—Vaccine Safety, Efficacy, and Lessons Learned: A Narrative Review

Abstract

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the fast-tracked development of vaccines under emergency use authorization. In light of the growing concerns about fast-tracked vaccines, this article reviews the safety, efficacy, and lessons learned of previously fast-tracked vaccines. (2) Methods: An article search regarding the safety and efficacy of fast-tracked vaccines was done in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. Of the 104 results, 24 articles were included. Five articles about BiovaxID, THERATOPE®, Sipuleucel-T, and AIDSVAX were also reviewed. (3) Results: The overall efficacy was shown to be 77–100%, with seroprotection against the viruses ranging from 87 to 100%. The antibody responses for optimal protection against the viruses fall within 85–97%. Generally, the fast-tracked vaccines were well-tolerated and had few significant adverse events, except for the H1N1 pandemic vaccine and its association with narcolepsy. To have accurate, precise, and timely fast-tracked vaccines, communication, sharing resources/data, and improving the current structures/outbreak operations are crucial. (4) Conclusions: This review found the FDA’s fast-tracking process for vaccines to have rigorous standards similar to the normal process. The previous fast-tracked vaccines were safe and efficacious. The lessons drawn from previous studies highlighted the significance of planning and utilizing global resources during significant outbreaks.