As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the role of drug safety received new attention. As new vaccines entered the market and a range of treatments were applied, entire populations woke up to the value of timely reports of symptoms, successes, and side-effects at scale, in the real world. The ability to quickly and efficiently capture accurate data, spot trends, draw robust conclusions about emerging safety issues, and act on them promptly was tangible, and expected by the public. To an extent, the