Medical researchers, pharmaceutical firms, agencies and governments are trying to produce effective Covid-19 vaccines, hoped to be available by the middle of next year.
But many people around the globe have a pre-existing suspicion of vaccines, as disinformation and fake messages on social media continue to contribute to widespread distrust of science, experts and politicians.
The New York Times reports "content from the top 10 health misinformation sites received four times as many Facebook views as content from the CDC, WHO and eight other leading health institutions during April" as the coronavirus was spreading.
Websites spreading health hoaxes on Facebook peaked at an estimated 460 million views in that month, according to a report from tracking group Avaaz.
Scepticism of politicians can be justified. The most effective distortions often are grounded in some believability and the coronavirus battle has been afflicted for months with politicisation over restrictions, testing, masks, economic reopening, official advice and strategies, particularly in the United States but also elsewhere.
US President Donald Trump has previously touted questionable coronavirus remedies and on Monday reposted messages asserting that the real US death toll from the coronavirus is only about 9000, not more than 185,000. On Wednesday, AP reported Trump was recycling a social media conspiracy theory from earlier this year that a covert network was coordinating racial justice protests.
Last weekend, rallies were held in Berlin and London against coronavirus measures. The German rally included far-right activists, supporters of Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and backers of bizarre conspiracy theory QAnon.
The Economist noted that a malaria drug, a Russian vaccine and the blood plasma of people who have recovered from the virus were all approved for use by governments "with little or no scientific substance to back those decisions up". US approval for the drug, hydroxychloroquine, was rescinded in June.
The Financial Times reported the Trump Administration is considering bypassing normal US regulatory standards to fast-track a UK vaccine for use in America before the country's November election.
The pace of the vaccine development could be stoking fears. The US programme is called Operation Warp Speed - which is hardly smoothing alarm about safety and cutting of corners. CNN also reports people will likely need to show up for two doses of a vaccine rather than just one.
US health experts have called for an independent panel to review data from Covid-19 vaccine trials. Dr Kathryn Stephenson, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, told CNN she initiated the call after colleagues said they did not want to get a coronavirus vaccine. "I'm hearing this from my peers, from doctors and nurses. They're pro-vaccine. They vaccinated their own children. But they are sceptical about this vaccine."
Here, Massey University research found 74 per cent of the population were interested in getting a coronavirus vaccine - above levels in the US, Britain and Germany. An NBC poll found only 44 per cent of American adults said they would get a government-approved vaccine, a further 32 per cent were not sure.
New Zealand's health authorities still have work ahead to maintain trust and reassure the public that data proves any vaccine made available here is safe and effective.
Social media makes it easy for all sorts of views to go global and we are not immune.
