As scientists from around the world compete to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, there is also a fight to make the millions of vials necessary to deliver it. CBS News has an exclusive look inside an Alabama factory that is doing its best to fill the vital need.
“I don’t want to overdo it. But that’s basically what he’s telling us to do. Save the world and do it in three months,” said Lawrence Ganti, President of Client Operations at SiO2 Materials Science in Auburn, Alabama.
This is part of the government’s giant bid, called “Operation Warp Speed,” to mass-produce the most promising vaccine candidates before they are approved.
“We will really buy and be ready to buy much more than just 300 million doses, because not all vaccines will,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.
When asked if he thought the government was promising too much, Azar replied, “Well, we are not making promises, we are setting goals.”
But rapid follow-up doses also means increasing supplies like syringes, needles, and glass vials.
The administration has so far disbursed $ 5.6 billion in contracts with more than a dozen companies. Some, like Corning, have a long history of making vaccine vials. Others, like SiO2, have never mass produced them.
“You want to accelerate this as quickly as possible, that’s absolutely a daunting task,” said Ganti. “There will definitely be hiccups along the way.”
Hiccups like production line crashes and a shortage of raw materials could lead to a catastrophe for the launch of a COVID-19 vaccine. There is also fierce global competition for supplies, which are already needed for other drugs.
“We may end up with a vaccine that is effective and safe, but does not have all the ingredients and auxiliary supplies we need to administer it,” said Prashant Yadav, a supply chain expert at Harvard Medical School.
When asked about purchasing more raw materials, Secretary Azar said that “it is already done.”
“We have taken care of that for American production,” he said, adding that the government has hired American manufacturers.
But contracts do not mean disposable assets. “There is always a risk that the amount you hire is not the amount you get,” Yadav said.
The fastest mumps vaccine was developed in four years. The government compares its current effort to put a man on the moon, something that seemed impossible but made history.
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