Thousands of healthy adult and elderly volunteers will be required to participate in high quality human clinical trials of the promising COVID vaccine candidates that have passed exhaustive pre-clinical (animal and laboratory) testing.  As part of an ‘all-stops out’ approach, Phase I (preliminary tolerability and dosing) and Phase II studies (definitive dosing, scheduling and more safety checking) must still be conducted in countries that have good control of circulating COVID disease.  Subsequent Phase III studies should be undertaken, by contrast, in countries with high levels of circulating COVID to see if the trial vaccines actually prevent disease.  Australia is ideally placed to conduct Phase I and Phase II COVID vaccine clinical trials.