A vaccine milestone

The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have approved the first of several COVID-19 vaccines developed in response to the pandemic. The first vaccine has been distributed to all 50 states, and vaccinations are underway. Development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines has been an extraordinary effort of science and engineering.

"This is a milestone human achievement by any measure," says Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland discusses the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and the timeline for vaccinations.

To practice safe social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, this interview was conducted using video conferencing. The sound and video quality are representative of the technology used. For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.

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Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.

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Dr. Poland has served as a consultant for Merck & Co. Inc., Medicago Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Sanofi Pasteur, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Dynavax Technologies Corp., Genentech Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., Kentucky BioProcessing Inc. and Genevant Sciences Corp., and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. He is a paid scientific adviser for Johnson & Johnson. Honoraria: Elsevier.