For most people, a vaccine against the coronavirus can’t come soon enough. So it’s encouraging that there are:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💉" title="Spritze" aria-label="Emoji: Spritze">100 vaccine candidates in 12 countries
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💉" title="Spritze" aria-label="Emoji: Spritze">8 already in clinical trials

Yet there’s still a danger humanity will fail to control Covid-19 https://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

The problem may not be the medical complexity of engineering a vaccine, but the politics surrounding inoculation.

Gear up for an intense, irrational and nasty fight http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

Even after we’ve settled on a safe, effective vaccine, there won’t be enough for everyone. So we’ll have to decide:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❓" title="Rotes Fragezeichen-Symbol" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Fragezeichen-Symbol">Who should get the shots first?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❓" title="Rotes Fragezeichen-Symbol" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Fragezeichen-Symbol">Who won’t get any? http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

With the right leadership, the world would overcome these difficulties.

40 years ago, even as the Cold War raged between the U.S. and Soviet Union, humanity was able to unite and eradicate smallpox http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

Today, however, is different. A “My Country First” nationalism is spreading.

Earlier this year, German officials were outraged after reports — unconfirmed — that Trump tried to buy a German company working on a vaccine in order to get exclusive access http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

Most people agree that health-care workers on the front lines should get first dibs on a vaccine. But after that, nothing is clear.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤰🏾" title="Schwangere Frau (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Schwangere Frau (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)">Should pregnant people get priority?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👴🏼" title="Älterer Mann (mittelheller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Älterer Mann (mittelheller Hautton)">The elderly?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👩🏻‍🔧" title="Woman mechanic (heller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Woman mechanic (heller Hautton)">Essential workers? If so, who are they? http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

These dilemmas will look trivial next to the biggest showdown: Scientific rationality vs conspiracy theories.

Early in the pandemic, there were hopes that the anti-vaxxer movement might become untenable and fizzle out. Instead, it’s booming http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

Humans have always spun conspiracy theories, especially during times of calamity.

So it’s no surprise that the pandemic has been accompanied by an “infodemic” http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

One fake YouTube video claimed that a vaccine would kill millions.

It was viewed more than 7 million times before it was taken down http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

Conspiracy theories have already led to anti-vaxxers refusing to get shots against measles, compromising herd immunity and causing new outbreaks.

The same could happen with a coronavirus vaccine http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

The threshold for herd immunity is estimated to be somewhere between 55% and 82% of the population.

Yet only 50% of Americans say they’d get vaccinated for Covid-19 http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...

So the time for coronavirus statecraft and education is now, before the vaccine arrives:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Develop multilateral vaccine solutions
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Have the debate about who has priority
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Teach people to distinguish between facts and fake news http://trib.al/vKDf39c ">https://trib.al/vKDf39c&q...