COVID-19 Global Research & Innovation Forum, 13 &14 May 2021

WHO research and scientific achievements in the fight against COVID-19 have just been released as a background piece to the 13-14 May Global Research & Innovation Forum.  This report presents WHO led research and innovation achievements against the goals and knowledge gaps articulated in the Coordinated Global Research and Innovation Roadmap for COVID-19 released in March 2020. This research roadmap was the product of a two-day meeting convened by WHO with 350 of the top scientist worldwide on 11-12 February 2020 – just weeks after the pandemic was announced. Using the R&D Blueprint framework, the roadmap aims to coordinate and accelerate global research, accelerate the development of diagnostics, medicines and vaccines, and ensure coordination of global research efforts towards the goals of the Roadmap.

The COVID-19 Research and Innovation Achievements Report provides an overview of the key WHO research and scientific achievements against the goals of the Roadmap. It is organized around the 9 thematic areas of research: The origins of the virus and animal/human interface; the transmission dynamics of the virus and diagnostics; clinical management; infection prevention and control; and the R&D for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. The achievement on the ethical considerations for research and the social sciences to guide the response to the pandemic are also presented in the report. Lastly, achievements related to variants and regulatory science are featured in the report.