Why vaccines can't be launched overnight

Under normal circumstances, the development of new vaccines and treatments could take 10-20 years

While the quest for developing vaccines for Covid-19 is on at pandemic speed, there has been widespread speculation that vaccines may come out in the market soon. However, scientists such as the UK’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and his US counterpart, Anthony Fauci, keep repeating that it won’t happen before 12 to 18 months. Also, in late February, the World Health Organization said that it wasn’t expecting a vaccine in less than 18 months. So the confusion continues.

Certainly, a drug cannot be manufactured and prescribed as soon as a potential molecule is identified in the lab. Thereafter, some