Ariel Bondarenko

Let’s face it: whenever you turn on the TV or scroll through social media, you’re bound to see something about Covid-19 and its devastating impacts. Luckily, though, not all of that news is bad news. In fact, we just may be on the verge of a breakthrough in the Coronavirus vaccine world. And in this day and age, if that isn’t good news, then what is?

As of October 3, The New York Times’ Coronavirus vaccine tracker shows that there are 59 active coronavirus vaccines either at stage 1-3 of being tested, or approved for limited use. None, however, have been approved for full use and distribution yet. On top of that, there are at least 91 possible vaccines that are being tested on animals which is known as preclinical testing. Once these vaccines prove successful in creating immunity when given to animals, they are able to enter phases 1, 2, and so on of human trials as can be seen on the Coronavirus vaccine tracker.

It may feel as though a vaccine has taken an eternity to be produced, but believe it or not, this is the fastest any vaccine has been manufactured and put through testing in history. This plan was constructed by the Trump administration, calling it “Operation Warp Speed,” or OWS, for short. The goal of OWS is to make and distribute 300 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine around the country starting January 2021. This is an especially tough task, considering that in order for a vaccine to prove effective and safe, it needs to be made in a careful, time consuming fashion. So, although news of a vaccine potentially coming soon sounds exciting, we have to ask, Will it really work?