Could Society Move Toward Normalcy Before A Coronavirus Vaccine Is Ready?

By Joe Palca

Published April 6, 2020 at 6:42 PM MDT

The best protection against the coronavirus would be a vaccine. But that's probably at least a year away, even if crash development programs succeed. What can be done in the meantime?

Corrected: April 7, 2020 at 10:00 PM MDT

A previous version of this story said that Mark Denison is the director of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In fact, his title is director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases.

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Joe Palca

Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics — everything from biomedical research to astronomy. He is currently focused on the eponymous series, "Joe's Big Idea." Stories in the series explore the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors. Palca is also the founder of NPR Scicommers – A science communication collective.

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