Joe Palca

To speed vaccine production from years to months, companies must start making a vaccine in large quantities even before it's clear a vaccine works.

A study of more than 800 health workers, first responders and others finds that taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19 is no better than a placebo in preventing the illness.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the pace and process needed to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine.

In the 1950s, as Dr. Jonas Salk and virologist Albert Sabin worked to create a vaccine to prevent infantile paralysis, the threat from polio was already long familiar to Americans.

People in the 1950s anxiously waited for scientists to come up with ways to protect children from polio. The road to a polio vaccine might contain some lessons for today's health crisis.

Three studies published Wednesday suggest it should be possible to come up with a coronavirus vaccine — tests performed on animals have shown the right results to prove a vaccine could be possible.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the latest in the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine.

The impact of the drug on the virus is being studied, but there is not yet evidence from medical trials — and there have been some warnings about side effects from taking the medicine.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna, Inc., is reporting preliminary data suggesting its COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and appears to be triggering an immune response in test subjects.

Initial results from a study of a COVID-19 vaccine suggest it is safe, and capable of generating the kind of immune response that may protect patients from getting the disease.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the antiviral drug remdesivir and other COVID-19 treatment possibilities.

The race is on. What will it take to develop, test and distribute a safe and effective vaccine?

In Corvallis, Ore, university volunteers are going into neighborhoods and offering residents a free self-test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in hopes of getting a more accurate snapshot of infections.

A team of scientists at Oregon State University are trying to measure the true prevalence of the coronavirus in Corvallis, Ore., by taking a random sample of the population.

Scientists work tirelessly to find a coronavirus vaccine. But there are some questions to answer: How soon a viable vaccine would be developed? Would billions of people worldwide be able to to get it?

Two scientists at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT say the newly developed test is so simple it could conceivably be done in someone's kitchen.

The vaccine, developed in a partnership between the pharmaceutical giant and a German biotech company, began trials on Monday with 360 volunteer subjects.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the development of the coronavirus vaccines.

The Trump administration is launching an operation to develop a coronavirus vaccine as early as January 2021. NPR's science and political correspondents discuss the project and its timeline.

The antiviral drug remdesivir was developed to treat Ebola but never worked well. New research is looking into whether it could be effective for COVID-19 patients.