Coronavirus: Optimism about a Vaccine Is Misplaced

When president Donald Trump met with drug-company executives at the White House on Monday, one of the items on the agenda was the development of a vaccine to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (the World Health Organization’s designation for the virus). “We’ve asked them to accelerate” work, the president told reporters.

As the coronavirus outbreak accelerates, with cases now found on every continent except Antarctica, there is intense interest in the development of a vaccine, and several U.S. drugmakers have begun working on them, independently or with the National Institutes of Health.

HM

About the Author

Henry Miller

Henry Miller, a physician and molecular biologist, was the founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology.

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When president Donald Trump met with drug-company executives at the White House on Monday, one of the items on the agenda was the development of a vaccine to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (the World Health Organization’s designation for the virus). “We’ve asked them to accelerate” work, the president told reporters.

As the coronavirus outbreak accelerates, with cases now found on every continent except Antarctica, there is intense interest in the development of a vaccine, and several U.S. drugmakers have begun working on them, independently or with the National Institutes of Health.