On Thursday, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel recommended emergency authorization of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. Regulators will almost certainly green-light it as soon as Friday, given the vaccine’s effectiveness and minimal risks.

While the jab is already available in the UK and Canada, FDA approval is the gold standard for much of the world. Moderna’s vaccine is close behind, and others should be available within months.

The story is now about production, storage, distribution and compliance. Pfizer plans to produce 50 million doses this year and up to 1.3 billion in 2021. That means supply constraints for several more months. Moreover, the panel featured members of the public talking about vaccine risks both real and imagined. The scientists and companies involved have done something almost impossible in record time, but it will be for naught if people won’t get their shots. (By Robert Cyran)

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