Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jun;42(1):28-54.
doi: 10.1007/s40592-024-00189-z. Epub 2024 Mar 9.

COVID-19 vaccines: history of the pandemic's great scientific success and flawed policy implementation

Vinay Prasad  1 , Alyson Haslam  2
Affiliations

COVID-19 vaccines: history of the pandemic's great scientific success and flawed policy implementation

Vinay Prasad et al. Monash Bioeth Rev. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccine has been a miraculous, life-saving advance, offering staggering efficacy in adults, and was developed with astonishing speed. The time from sequencing the virus to authorizing the first COVID-19 vaccine was so brisk even the optimists appear close-minded. Yet, simultaneously, United States' COVID-19 vaccination roll-out and related policies have contained missed opportunities, errors, run counter to evidence-based medicine, and revealed limitations in the judgment of public policymakers. Misplaced utilization, contradictory messaging, and poor deployment in those who would benefit most-the elderly and high-risk-alongside unrealistic messaging, exaggeration, and coercion in those who benefit least-young, healthy Americans-is at the heart. It is important to consider the history of COVID-19 vaccines to identify where we succeeded and where we failed, and the effects that these errors may have more broadly on vaccination hesitancy and routine childhood immunization programs in the decades to come.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health policy; Vaccinations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

V.P. receives research funding from Arnold Ventures through a grant made to UCSF, and royalties for books and writing from Johns Hopkins Press, MedPage, and the Free Press. He declares consultancy roles with UnitedHealthcare and OptumRX; He hosts the podcasts, Plenary Session, VPZD, Sensible Medicine, writes the newsletters, Sensible Medicine, the Drug Development Letter and VP's Observations and Thoughts, and runs the YouTube channel Vinay Prasad MD MPH, which collectively earn revenue on the platforms: Patreon, YouTube and Substack.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline of quotes regarding vaccine roll-out
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Timeline of approval for COVID vaccine for children, ages 6 months to 4 years (2020)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. @VPrasadMDMPH (Vinay Prasad). 2021. Yesterday I said the J&J vaccine is Game Over for women 18–50, with 6 cases in 1.4 million vaccinated in that age group (~1/200k), here is why I say that.... Twitter. https://twitter.com/vprasadmdmph/status/1382734864219140100.
    1. Andrews, N., E. Tessier, J. Stowe, C. Gower, F. Kirsebom, R. Simmons, E. Gallagher, S. Thelwall, N. Groves, G. Dabrera, R. Myers, C.N.J. Campbell, G. Amirthalingam, M. Edmunds, M. Zambon, K. Brown, S. Hopkins, M. Chand, S.N. Ladhani, and J. Lopez Bernal. 2022. Duration of protection against mild and severe disease by covid-19 vaccines. The New England Journal of Medicine 386 (4): 340–350. 10.1056/NEJMoa2115481. 10.1056/NEJMoa2115481 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Approval letter: BNT162b2. 2021.
    1. Australian Government. 2023. COVID-19 booster vaccine advice. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccines/getting-your-vaccin...
    1. Baden, L. R., H. M. El Sahly, B. Essink, K. Kotloff, S. Frey, R. Novak, D. Diemert, S. A. Spector, N. Rouphael, C. B. Creech, J. McGettigan, S. Khetan, N. Segall, J. Solis, A. Brosz, C. Fierro, H. Schwartz, K. Neuzil, L. Corey, COVE Study Group. 2021. Efficacy and safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The New England Journal of Medicine, 384(5), 403–416. 10.1056/NEJMoa2035389. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances