Oregonians won’t see just 1 COVID-19 vaccine, but 2, 3 or even more

Nearly a year after the new coronavirus emerged as a worldwide threat, dozens of companies and research institutions started work to create a vaccine for COVID-19. It usually takes years to develop a vaccine, so it was not at all certain that any of the vaccines being developed would actually work.

In fact, when the Food and Drug Administration set requirements for how effective a vaccine needed to be for an emergency use authorization (EUA), it set it at 50% — that’s in the same range as to how effective the flu vaccine is each year.

Less than a year later, there are three COVID-19 vaccines nearing the finish line which are far, far more effective than that. And several others are expected to surpass that mark as well.

Vaccines from two of the manufacturers are expected to arrive this month in Oregon, with others following close behind as the state and country try to end a pandemic they have thus far failed to contain.

Having so many vaccines in the pipeline means harnessing more manufacturing capability, and eventually will allow health officials to tailor vaccines where they’re most effective. Because of the severity of the pandemic, the FDA is expected to approve vaccines for emergency use before the required series of human trials are completed, meaning those kinds of details are currently not as clear as they eventually will be.