The race to develop a vaccine to combat coronavirus has been raging for months. While companies and countries around the world have been moving at historic speeds, it’s still hard to say when it will be widely available.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer says results from late-stage trials could be ready by mid-October. But many immunologists say that’s unrealistic. Phase 3 clinical trials are full of fits and starts, like in the case of British-Swedish company AstraZeneca.
And to shore up public confidence in the process, nine drug companies have pledged to only seek regulatory approval for a vaccine once it works safely in clinical trials.