Business as Usual will provide a briefing from Paul Mango from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the status of Operation Warp Speed national vaccine effort. Launched in April of 2020 as part of a public-private partnership, Operation Warp Speed has been described by one journalist as inarguably one of the most ambitious scientific endeavors in modern U.S. history. The goals of Operation Warp Speed include the delivery of 300 million doses of a safe and effective vaccine by January of 2021. In context, up until today, the fastest a vaccine has ever been approved was four years (for mumps). During our time with Mango, who is a Pittsburgh native, we will not only talk about the status of vaccine development, but we will also explore strategies to ensure the vaccine is distributed equitably to all communities (domestically and abroad) and we’ll review the Department’s strategy to encourage vaccine adoption through education and transparency.
