Vaccine ETA? Depends who you ask

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[Director of the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, Adrian Hill, saying:] "Might be a million doses manufactured by September.”

[Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre and Harvard Medical School professor Dan Barough, saying:] “There could be emergency use authorization in early 2021.”

[WHO General Director Tedros Adhanom, saying”] “… there is no silver bullet at the moment, and there might never be.”

The projected date of when a coronavirus vaccine will be ready varies depending on who you ask.

[Executive Director of WHO’s Emergencies Programme Mike Ryan, saying:] "We need to be realistic on time.”

While politicians, drugmakers and regulators agree on the need for speed, they all offer contradictory outlooks - because “ready” means different things to different people.

It’s best to examine the timeline in stages - starting with the first hurdle: developing a vaccine that works.

More than half a dozen drugmakers around the world are conducting advanced clinical trials.

Several expect to know if their vaccines work and are safe by the end of this year.

The most optimistic timeline comes from AstraZeneca in Britain, which says its vaccine could be completed as early as August.

The trials must study potential side effects on different types of people.

Some experts are skeptical they can be completed that quickly.

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had already granted regulatory approval to a vaccine, after less than two months of human testing.

There are concerns that it’s moving too fast - and the vaccine still has to complete final trials.

The next step, would be getting the shots ready.

Several drugmakers are building manufacturing capacity so they can begin production as soon as vaccines are approved by regulators.

Some efforts are backed by a U.S. government program called 'Operation Warp Speed'.

America’s top diseases expert, Dr. Fauci, told Reuters "tens of millions" of doses could be available in early 2021.

"But as we get into 2021, the manufacturers tell us that they will have hundreds of millions and likely a billion doses by the end of 2021.

"That contrasts with more optimistic guidance from U.S. President Trump.

Reporter: “You said a vaccine could be ready around November 3rd. Are you optimistic that that will happen?

Trump: “I'm optimistic that it will be probably around that date.”

But no further details were given.

Once the vaccines are approved and production is underway, distribution times will vary.

If you’re high risk or an essential worker in a richer nation, you’ll likely get access to first supplies.

The wait time will likely be longer for people in developing countries, which don't have early supply deals.