Americans want a COVID-19 vaccine—but worry that it could be rushed out before the election. Here's what the science says.
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Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute wasn't far behind Moderna in the race to be first out with a vaccine. But in August, as Moderna was beginning the vast logistical operation of enrolling participants for its trial, Russia decided to authorize use of its vaccine even though it hadn't yet published the results of its phase 1 and 2 trials, which are used to gather data on toxicity and effectiveness from a small number of close-monitored participants.
As if to underscore the risks, earlier this month AstraZeneca suspended phase-3 trials of the vaccine it has developed with Oxford University after a patient developed symptoms of a neurological disease . Still, there's no telling when ongoing trials will end. Scientists first have to collect enough data to be confident that they know what the risks and benefits are. Unlike, say, cancer drugs, where patients can often face an early death unless something is done to halt the progress of the disease, vaccines are given to millions of healthy people, which puts a premium on safety.
Most of the COVID-19 vaccines require two doses, which greatly complicates the logistics of the rollout because you need to manufacture and distribute twice as many shots. Another unknown is how durable these vaccines will be—how long will they last? Chances are on the order of months or years, but we don't know, and we may not know until after vaccines are released.
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