Epilogue
The launch of Sputnik I was the beginning of the Space Race, but not the end. That came on June 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong exited Apollo 11 and walked across the surface of the moon. John F. Kennedy announced the goal of reaching the moon in a speech delivered at Rice University, where he said we needed to set goals “not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills … .”16
President Kennedy was probably thinking about Sputnik I, but his words are also an appropriate response to Sputnik V. In developing a vaccine to SARS-CoV-2, we need to embrace the challenge of doing something hard. There have already been calls to make vaccines widely available based on early data, because the need is great. We must resist. The public will give us one shot to get this right, and we must not squander it.
In the multi-billion dollar world of vaccine development, the most valuable commodity is the public’s trust. Even the best vaccine is useless if everyone refuses to take it.
In the multi-billion dollar world of vaccine development, the most valuable commodity is the public’s trust. Even the best vaccine is useless if everyone refuses to take it. In a recent survey, only 65% of people indicated a willingness to take a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine when it comes to market.17 To achieve herd immunity, we would need 80–90% of people to be vaccinated.18
To achieve that goal, the rollout of the SARS CoV-2 vaccine will have to be flawless. If we introduce a vaccine that is ineffective or has unanticipated side effects, public interest in a second vaccine will plummet. We need to employ all of our energies and skills to do this correctly, because we won’t get a second chance.
With this in mind, on Sept. 8, nine pharmaceutical companies pledged they would not bring a SARS Co-V-2 vaccine to market until phase 3 testing had been completed. One major company declined to sign the pledge; ironically, that company now has the distinction of being the first to temporarily pause its vaccine trial to investigate a serious adverse event. The pause was great news, actually; the company’s willingness to place the trial on hold indicates the system is working exactly as it should, with a priority placed on safety.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar may have put it best: “The point is not to be first with a vaccine. The point is to have a vaccine that is safe and effective for the American people and the people of the world.”19
