Research to understand the safety of COVID-19 vaccines has played a vital role in the world’s response to the pandemic. There are currently four vaccines approved for use against COVID-19 in the UK, with almost 90% of the UK population having had their first dose, and over 80% fully vaccinated. This rapid vaccine rollout would not have been possible without the ground-breaking research taking place across the UK.

The Data and Connectivity National Core Study led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics, works to make vital data available to accelerate and enable research on COVID-19.

In November 2021 we held an online and free open-door event to all members of the public to hear from inspirational researchers in health data science.

In our three videos, UK experts outline and give insight into their research on vaccine safety.

Martina Patone presents from the University of Oxford a research project working to answer ‘Does a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine increase risk of adverse events and COVID-19 infection?’ 

Steven Kerr presents University of Edinburgh‘s project that enables COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness using national datasets from across the UK:  

Cathie Sudlow, Director of the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, provides  insights and understanding into the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.

To view the full webinar, which includes 30 minutes of questions from the audience please follow the link below. Questions included top priorities for emerging research, such as boosters, children and young, the effects on pregnant women and emerging variants.  

Watch here