Here’s the latest on COVID-19 vaccines
Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines—from their safety and efficacy to the global vaccine rollout.
Editor’s note: As of November 2021, this COVID-19 vaccine tracker is no longer being updated. Stay up-to-date on the latest vaccine developments and other COVID-19 news here.
COVID-19 vaccines have reached consumers in record time. Though the process can typically take 10 to 15 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization to vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson in less than a year. Before now, the fastest-ever vaccine—for mumps—took four years to develop in the 1960s.
Fortunately, scientists had started working on the seeds of these vaccines long before COVID-19 emerged–teams were doing breakthrough work on mRNA technology for 12 years before the pandemic, and a global push to make clinical trials for COVID-19 more efficient helped ensure the world had safe, effective drugs in record time.
Even after a vaccine is authorized or fully licensed, it faces
