Rushing a Covid-19 Vaccine Is a Terrible Idea
With all that’s riding on the success of a vaccine, it’s worth waiting for a full set of trial results. And there are risks in not doing so.
A Covid-19 vaccine is a key step toward a return to normal. How we get there may make all the difference.
Photographer: Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images
The coronavirus pandemic has upended lives and disrupted the global economy. The sooner we can get a vaccine, the sooner we have a chance at returning to normal. That doesn’t mean we should needlessly rush it.
Vaccine development and approval normally takes several years, but it has been squeezed into a period of less than year. In Donald Trump’s America, that’s not soon enough -- but there is a way to speed things up even further. The Food and Drug Administration, as the gatekeeper for any new medicine coming to market, can hasten the regulatory process in the event of an urgent need and award approval before a trial is complete. Trump wants Covid-19 vaccine developers to take this path.