Episode Information

Never before have so many scientists in so many countries focused on a single goal with such urgency. More than 180 companies and academic institutions have grounded all other research as they race to create a vaccine against SARS CoV-2 and save millions of lives. This is one of the most important quests of our time. Yet creating a vaccine is a stunningly difficult challenge. Normally it takes 15 years. But governments have dictated a tense new timeline – just 18 months -- despite the fact that scientists are developing the vaccine while fighting the coronavirus. “We’re building the plane as we’re flying it,” declares one researcher. Vaccine Hunters will document this dramatic race from the inside. We’ve gained unique access to the top researchers in the world – BioNTech/Pfizer, likely the first to release a vaccine; Imperial College London who plan to make their vaccine available to everyone in the world; Canada’s Entos Pharmaceuticals who are creating a cutting-edge vaccine never seen before; and China’s CanSino who’ve already released their vaccine to the Chinese military.