From the desk of Dr. Gupta 04 06 2021

For almost a year, Americans looked to scientists hoping they would achieve what would be considered their moonshot -- creating a vaccine for Covid-19.   Once those first doses rolled out at last December, you could feel this collective sigh of relief around the country and what we have been able to achieve since then has been no less astounding.   The US is currently vaccinating its population at a pace five times faster than the global average -- and that means millions and millions of vaccine doses have been manufactured and will need to continue to roll off the line.   A few weeks ago, I got an exclusive look at Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it was truly a lesson of failure not being an option. They have managed to scale up their operations using novel solutions both big and small.   Don’t have a large enough supply of dry ice? Make it yourself.   Don’t know how to produce a brand new type of vaccine to scale? Collaborate with your colleagues around the world until you find an answer.   As impressive as creating a vaccine is, the continuous innovation in manufacturing that has occurred to get us to a point where we are on the cusp of regaining some sense of normalcy should also be applauded.   When you are able to get a vaccine or if you’re trying to encourage loved ones to get vaccinated, take a moment to think of how remarkable it is that we have Covid-19 vaccines available by the millions.   So let’s all continue doing our due diligence and keep each other safe. It’s the best way to show how much we appreciate the work that has gone into every dose.