A bulls-eye solution to our troubles with COVID-19 is an effective vaccine. However, vaccines take a long time to become available, mainly because they must be tested multiple times to confirm they work properly with minimal side effects.

Many companies have been moving towards a successful vaccine, including Moderna Inc., Novavax Inc, and Johnson & Johnson. These companies regularly compete with each other throughout the pharmaceutical the world. Identifying a vaccine for COVID-19 will earn them a fortune, but they have many hoops to get through. 

“Moderna is the first to reach a clinical trial,” said Denise Grady of the New York Times. “The main goal of this first set of tests is to find out if the vaccine is safe. If it is, later studies will determine how well it works,” said Grady.

It typically takes 10 to 15 years to have a successful vaccine. But, with the rush to create a solution for COVID-19, a successful vaccination should come much more quickly. Though Moderna is already in clinical trials, it can still take a substantial amount of time for the vaccine to become accessible, in this case about a year.

“Are we going to have to wait longer (for successful vaccination)?” asked 7th grader Simone H.

If the vaccine were available in a year and this virus no longer affected as many of us, what is the point? Wouldn’t herd immunity take over, where the majority of Americans were already immune? Yes, though a vaccine would prevent people who have not built up an immunity to the virus from testing positive potentially preventing their illness or death. 

“It gives hope to people who thought originally they were not going to make it,” said Chloe M.

Since we do not yet know if an immunity to the virus will prevent a person previously affected by it from having it again, a vaccine would solve that concern. If immunity does not prevent recurring illness, a vaccine will prevent people from getting coronavirus a second time.

“I think that it is a good thing that it might be able to help a lot of people,” said Chloe M.

Even though a vaccine is in the works, it will not be available for quite some time. Though they will not help our current situation, they’ll undoubtedly be effective in the upcoming years.