COVID-19 vaccines: implementation, limitations and opportunities

Abstract

The speed of development and the magnitude of efficacy of recently developed vaccines directed against SARS-CoV-2 has been truly remarkable. This editorial will not summarize the highly publicized and reviewed information about the design and clinical trial results of these vaccines. Rather, I will speculate about several issues regarding i) considerations of the rollout and implementation of the multiple vaccines, ii) the use of the vaccines in ways different from those used in the registrational phase 3 studies, iii) the future both of SARS-CoV-2 in the human population and of "normal" human life returning after widespread vaccination, and iv) the implications of the success of these SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for vaccine development against other pathogens.