The Race Toward an Effective Coronavirus Vaccine

Creation of a COVID-19 vaccine is the crown jewel of the White House’s COVID-19 response. President Trump unrealistically named the tedious and time-consuming endeavor “Operation Warp Speed.”  To be licensed for use, a novel vaccine must be tested for safety, immune system reactivity, and protective value in humans, which can take up to 10-15 years.  Unlike medications, which treat patients with a medical condition, vaccines are given to healthy people, therefore the safety margin must be extraordinarily high.