RECENT announcements of demonstrated efficacy in COVID-19 vaccine trials have brought hope that a return to normality is in sight. BY MARIANA MAZZUCATO, HENRY LISHI LI & ELS TORREELE  The preliminary data for Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s novel mRNA vaccines are highly encouraging, suggesting that their approval for emergency use is forthcoming. And more recent news of effectiveness (albeit at a slightly lower rate) in a vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has fuelled optimism that even more breakthroughs are on their way. In theory, the arrival of a safe and effective vaccine would represent the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, we are not even at the end of the beginning of delivering what is needed: a people’s vaccine that is equitably distributed and made freely available to all who need it. To be sure, the work to create vaccines in a matter of months deserves praise. Humanity has made a monumental technological leap forward. But the springboard was decades of massive public investment in research and development. Most of the leading vaccine candidates prime the immune system’s defences against the viral “spike protein,” an approach made possible through years of research at the US National Institutes of Health. More immediately, BioNTech has received $445 million from the German government, and Moderna has received $1 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and more than $1 billion from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has received more than £1 billion ($1,3 billion) of public funding. But for technological advances to translate into health for all, innovations that are created collectively should be governed in the public interest, not for private profit. This is especially true when it comes to developing, manufacturing, and distributing a vaccine in the context of a pandemic. No country acting alone can resolve this crisis. That is why we need vaccines that are universally and freely available. And yet, the current innovation system prioritises the interests of high-income countries over those of everyone else, and profits over public health. The first step towards a people’s vaccine is to ensure full transparency of the clinical-trial results, which would enable independent and timely assessments of safety and efficacy. The publication of scanty, preliminary data through corporate Press releases is meant for financial markets, not the public-health community. This practice sets a bad precedent. While pharmaceutical share prices surge, health professionals and the public are left second-guessing the reported results. As more details about the flaws in clinical trial design and implementation for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine emerge, so do the calls for open science and immediate sharing of protocols and results. In addition, critical questions about the leading vaccine candidates remain unanswered. Responding to political and ec