Typically vaccines takes around 28 months from academic research to distribution. With the current covid-19 pandemic, estimate of vaccine could arrive earlier in 12 to 18 months. What will it take to fast track federal approvals for vaccines?
CDC and the FDA set the rules for the phases of clinical trials for vaccines. These phases ensure that vaccines are safe and effective, and also weigh in benefits vs risk. The probability of FDA licensing a treatment or vaccination is less than 10 percent, but this reassures the public that the ones that are approved are safe. With clinical trials under way at the same time, we could see factories and manufacturing infrastructure being built to support distribution. We are in the midst of a global race to find a vaccine for this pandemic, and the countries that develop it first will inoculate its citizens first. Even with distribution of a vaccine in a country, public health officials will still need to prioritize who gets the vaccine first.
Click here: New York Times Interactive Opinion
Click here: CDC Vaccine Product Approval Process
