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KDNK's Summer broadcasts continue Wednesday July 15th with Easy Jim and Bella Rayne, music starts at 6pm at the Basalt River Park.

The Market For Emergency Vaccines Is Like No Other

COVID-19 is not the first coronavirus outbreak we've experienced. There was SARS in 2003, and then MERS in 2012. If coronaviruses have been around for years, why don't we have a vaccine already?

The answer partially has to do with economics. Turns out that the market for emergency vaccines is weird. So weird that it involves top-secret chicken flocks, the creation of a new government agency and an annual stockpile of upwards of 900,000 chicken eggs. This is the story of what it takes to produce a national vaccine supply.

Listen to the original Planet Money podcast episode here! Subscribe to our video series here — and while you're at it, subscribe to our podcast.

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Annabel Edwards