As COVID-19 vaccine development continues, we are reading more news about ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines. We’re also reading about clinical trials and which phase of trials vaccine candidates are in. This leaves many people wondering just what a clinical trial is, how many phases there are and what they tell us.

These are important questions, so we’ve put everything you need to know just a click away: Today in The Conversation Canada, Charles Weijer, professor of medicine, epidemiology & biostatistics, and philosophy at Western University, explains the phases of testing, how they work and why they’re necessary to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective.

Also today:

All the best.

Patricia Nicholson

Health + Medicine Editor
A lab technician holds a vial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center, run by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand on May 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Explainer: How clinical trials test COVID-19 vaccines

Charles Weijer, Western University

Will a vaccine for COVID-19 be safe? Animal testing, human clinical trials and post-approval surveillance give us good grounds to believe that a future approved vaccine will work and be safe.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, left, and Education Minister Stephen Lecce, right, on July 30, 2020, before announcing the government’s plan for reopening schools in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Are local shutdowns effective, or should COVID-19 lockdowns be in lockstep province-wide?

Vadim Karatayev, University of Guelph; Chris Bauch, University of Waterloo; Madhur Anand, University of Guelph

With sufficient testing and co-ordination, reopening schools and businesses in areas without active outbreaks can be as effective as a wide lockdown in minimizing COVID-19 cases, according to a new model.
A man photographs a mural of late actor Chadwick Boseman’s character T'Challa (Black Panther) from the 2018 film ‘Black Panther,’ on Sept. 8, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Why Chadwick Boseman is more of a hero than Hollywood’s Black Panther

Vershawn Ashanti Young, University of Waterloo

Unlike the Hollywood hero he portrayed, Bosemen created space for a kaleidescope of Black masculinities and challenged the narrative that urban Black men are in need of saving.
A sign of things to come? Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, centre, is seen with Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand, right, and Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Small Business and Export Promotion, left, and Health Minister Patty Hajdu on the video screen. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Will Chrystia Freeland lead a feminist post-coronavirus recovery?

Gabriela Perdomo, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Pascale Dangoisse, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

As the finance minister of a G7 nation, Chrystia Freeland has entered a club of political leaders whose entire world view is shaped by neoliberalism. Will she find a way to promote real feminism?
Men in a league of senior hockey players show more concern about each other than the score of the game. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

For the love of the game: What old men’s hockey can teach young players

Kristi Allain, St. Thomas University (Canada)

Canadians love hockey and many play the sport well into their senior years. A researcher who spent time with a Silver Skaters league found their unique love of the game could help younger players.

La Conversation Canada
Des musiciens respectent la distanciation physique lors d'une pratique à Vancouver, en août. L'art et la culture sont essentiels au mieux-vivre ensemble. La Presse Canadienne/Darryl Dyck

Les arts et la culture sont essentiels et il faut poursuivre leur déconfinement

Alexandre P. Bédard, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); Caroline Coulombe, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); Karine Rajoelisolo Debergue, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Après une crise, sanitaire, économique ou humanitaire, l’art et la culture sont des vecteurs indispensables tant pour la société que pour les communautés et les citoyens.

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