Speaking as a non-scientist (I have no idea what I’m talking about), my understanding is that even best case scenario would see a vaccine getting rushed for approval the early part of next year, or getting approved for larger trial. Then, it appears that the vaccine production would need to start. Then there is the transport and distribution, the politics of how all of this gets paid for, etc. And finally, we’ll be met with parts of the population that will refuse to vaccinate, or will wait to see if there are any dangers to taking such a rushed vaccine.
It seems as though it could be years before a vaccine is distributed and readily available so that herd immunity is reached. And from what I have heard, we still don’t know if having the virus already provides enough antibodies to make someone immune – for any length of time.
Re: the prevailing narrative about life in the US returning to pre-pandemic “normal” – that isn’t good either. That “normal” meant death and suffering for way too many people, while a few had more money than they could ever spend in 100 lifetimes. I can’t see how this shit economic system is to survive this. The two wings of the corporate party in the US has decided that they aren’t even willing to provide the most basic of services during this time. They’re convinced that people here are too indoctrinated to revolt, and they’re probably right.
As for the timeline of a vaccine, if it’s years from now and people are just left to rot without jobs, income, and healthcare, then years = “never” for many people. They won’t live to see it.