Where 2020 saw the development and testing of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at an unprecedented pace, the first half of 2021 has seen vaccine rollout in many countries. In this Progress article, we provide a snapshot of ongoing vaccine efficacy studies, as well as real-world data on vaccine effectiveness and the impact of virus variants of concern. Where they have been deployed in a high proportion of the adult population, the currently approved vaccines have been extremely effective in preventing COVID-19, particularly severe disease. Nonetheless, there are still significant challenges in ensuring equitable vaccine access around the globe and lessons that can be learned for controlling this pandemic and for the next pandemic.

2020 年，针对严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 的疫苗的开发和测试以前所未有的速度进行，而 2021 年上半年，许多国家都推出了疫苗。在这篇进展文章中，我们提供了正在进行的疫苗功效研究的概况，以及有关疫苗有效性和所关注病毒变种影响的真实世界数据。目前批准的疫苗在成年人口中使用的比例较高，在预防 COVID-19（特别是严重疾病）方面非常有效。尽管如此，在确保全球范围内公平获得疫苗方面仍然存在重大挑战，并且为控制这次大流行和下一次大流行可以吸取经验教训。