Covid vaccine is first step. It’ll take years to manufacture and distribute

One estimate puts global vaccine production capacity at up to 6.4 billion doses per year, though this is based on single-dose influenza vaccines.

The world is hoping a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine will soon become available. So far, more than 160 candidate vaccines are in development. Some 31 of these have entered human clinical trials. One of them is Russia’s “Sputnik V”, which was granted approval by the country’s health ministry last week. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a large number of international experts have urged Russia to conduct more testing to ensure the vaccine’s safety before using it.

But even if this candidate and others are proven to be safe and effective, developing the vaccine is just the first step. Some of the biggest challenges in getting everyone vaccinated still lie ahead.

Read more: Russia’s coronavirus vaccine hasn’t been fully tested. Doling it out risks side effects and false protection

Challenge 1: manufacturing the vaccine

The first major challenge after a vaccine is developed is to produce enough of it to start vaccination programs. One estimate puts global vaccine production capacity at up to 6.4 billion doses per year, though this is based on single-dose influenza vaccines.

But some of the Covid-19 vaccines currently in development require two or three injections. This means, if the same technology for Covid-19 vaccines is required as for influenza vaccines, global production is severely reduced….