Conversation

Readers marvel at Pfizer’s vaccine moon shot.

he world is begging for deliverance from Covid-19 via the only seemingly plausible means to do so: a safe, effective vaccine that can be developed, tested, produced and distributed at unprecedented speed and scale. More than 165 companies worldwide, fueled by billions of federal dollars in the U.S., are racing to tame the coronavirus—perhaps none more assiduously than pharma giant Pfizer, whose CEO, Albert Bourla, graced our June/July cover and offered writer Nathan Vardi an exclusive, guardedly optimistic progress report. Readers, largely reassured by the chief executive’s sober, successat-any-cost demeanor, are hopeful: “Humane, ethical Pfizer chief Albert Bourla prioritizes finding a Covid-19 vaccine over watching the bottom line,” tweeted Oxford professor @danbdennis. After quoting Vardi’s piece (“Some experts feel Bourla’s timeline—a viable vaccine in a matter of a few months—is simply unrealistic”), @FrankMullens, surely speaking for billions of people around the globe, added: “Let’s hope the experts are wrong.”