So When Exactly Will a COVID Vaccine Be Ready? Vaccine development is a typically lengthy process: Under normal circumstances, it can take anywhere between a decade and 15 years to get one approved and on the market, ready for distribution. But when epidemiologists began to raise the alarm in January over a new worrying virus that was ravaging a sprawling Chinese capital, it became evident that we were not facing normal circumstances, and drug companies responded accordingly. Now, less than a year after embarking on the frenzied race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, it appears likely that not just one, but multiple vaccines may be ready before the end of the year.
So what happens once we’re widely inoculated?
Well, here’s the deflating news: A vaccine is “not going to be a light switch” back to normalcy, Fauci said during a recent appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, elaborating that we’ll likely be wearing masks and social distancing even after the vaccine is widely distributed. “I would recommend to people to not abandon all public-health measures just because you have been vaccinated,” Fauci said, because, even if you get vaccinated and the efficacy rate of the vaccine ends up being 95 percent, there is still a chance — albeit small — that you could get the virus. Also, Fauci has noted in the past, we have to account for those who don’t get vaccinated, either because they lack access or the means to pay for inoculations or because they’re skeptical.
David Ho, a virologist at Columbia University who’s developing monoclonal antibody therapies, echoed Fauci’s estimation, saying we’ll be continuing our precautionary measures for most of next year.
