Although the COVID-19 pandemic has left many feeling helpless and in despair, the public received good news recently: a successful COVID-19 vaccine has been produced. So far, there are two pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and Moderna, which have announced their production of successful COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines have been noted to have a 95% success rate and have both passed the phase 3 clinical trials.

Operation Warp Speed
The unprecedented speed at which these vaccines have been produced is notable and is largely credited to the support given by Operation Warp Speed. For example, Moderna received over $1 billion as part of Operation Warp Speed from the United States government to develop a successful COVID-19 vaccine and Pfizer negotiated a $2 billion deal where the United States government would purchase 100 million doses of the approved vaccine.

Distribution of the Vaccines
As of right now, many Canadian provinces are expected to receive the new vaccines produced by both Moderna and Pfizer. Ontario, for example, has announced that the province will receive 2.4 million doses of the vaccine, 1.6 million doses from Pfizer and 800,000 doses from Moderna. The federal government of Canada has previously negotiated deals with both Moderna and Pfizer to receive a minimum of 56 million and 20 million doses, respectively. This is critical when Canada is seeing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the country.

However, with every success comes new new barriers. For example, the vaccine from Pfizer must be stored at a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius which can be a difficult task for some countries and regions that experience immense heat levels.

Students' Perspectives
This incredible breakthrough serves two purposes to students: hope in technological advancement and building of greater trust and faith during this uncertain time. On the first purpose, students who are interested in medicine and science are able to realize that such developments are possible, as the scientific field is persistently expanding its boundaries, motivating future students in medicine and science. As for the second purpose, many students are unsure and confused with the new pandemic that has drastically changed our lives. A new vaccine, and the fact that multiple companies are on the verge of distributing large numbers of vaccines, gives a sense of security in believing that the pandemic can be resolved safely.