Joint IOGP-IPIECA position on COVID-19 vaccine usage
Introduction to statement
Since late 2020, several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved by regulators in many countries. This document aims to help companies understand these developments, provide guidance for company policy development, and offer an assessment of the expected impact vaccines will have on the course of the pandemic. This guide will not provide an exhaustive list of current vaccines in the market, as the science is continuously developing. IOGP-IPIECA Members that seek to gain regular up-to-date insights in COVID-19 vaccine developments are invited to join the Health Committee’s weekly COVID-19 Calls (please contact Health Committee Manager Mariana Carvalho at mc@iogp.org).
Vaccinations are one of three strategies governments, intergovernmental institutions, non-governmental organisations,
and private enterprise are pursuing to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The three strategies are:
- Effective preventive public health policies and vaccinations
- Accurate, early, and scalable testing for COVID-19
- Effective treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 patients
None of these three strategies can by themselves stop the pandemic, and all three will be needed to move from the current pandemic state to a series of smaller and more manageable localised epidemics. By using all three strategies, a situation should emerge where COVID-19 – while likely not eradicated entirely – is managed to a point that it no longer causes the current health impacts and societal disruption.
The IOGP-IPIECA Health Committee has and will continue to share and discuss promising developments in treating COVID-19, such as the use of steroids, convalescent plasma, and monoclonal antibodies. At the same time, companies active in the oil and gas industry have significant roles to play in the first two strategic areas of prevention and testing. For the latter, the Health Committee has published a position statement which can be found here.
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