Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have devoted countless hours to ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccines being deployed and those in the development pipeline are safe and effective. But it’s another task being done outside of the lab that’s growing in importance—helping to ensure public confidence in vaccines.

“Ultimately, all of what we do is for naught if people aren't willing to take the vaccines that come through the development process,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

After nine months of suffering, isolation and economic downturn on an unprecedented international scale, the expedited development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines has shown us the light at the tunnel’s end. Having an end in sight is not the same as getting there, however: Inoculating the majority of American citizens in a matter of months would be complicated under the best of circumstances.

In recent months, scientists and policymakers around the globe have rallied together with one common goal: to eliminate Covid-19. Budgets have been revised to funnel money toward research, competitive barriers between scientists and companies have been lowered, and regulatory processes have been reworked to help safe and effective drugs and vaccines get to patients faster. It’s a time of urgency, of disruptive healthcare changes, and of creative problem-solving.

Trust is health’s most valuable player

COVID-19 has made clear that the politicization of health is incredibly dangerous; the health of billions of individuals is at stake, but so too is trust in pharmaceutical companies, in the scientific process, and in government and our regulatory agencies.