Pfizer, in partnership with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, became the latest company to launch human trials for a potential coronavirus vaccine Monday.
If all goes well, the companies hope their COVID-19 vaccine could be ready for emergency use in September, in time for what many predict will be a period of rejuvenated viral transmission (if it subsides at all in the U.S. between now and then). The normal caveats apply here — the quest for a vaccine is moving along at a pace never before seen, which means that some essential steps may be purposefully skipped in the process, and many experts believe that getting a vaccine in even 18 months, let alone later this year, is overly optimistic.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Critics' choice: Steak houses that break from traditionFeature Eight hours of slow-roasting prime rib, a 41-ounce steak, and a former Catholic school chapel turned steakhouse
-
Tash Aw's 6 favorite books about forbidden loveFeature The Malaysian novelist recommends works by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and more
-
France and Indonesia promote a contentious bid for an Israel-Palestine two-state solutionTalking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreadsSpeed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
