After Finding a Virus Vaccine, the Challenge Is Making Enough

Billions will be clamoring for a coronavirus vaccine once one is ready, putting pressure on drugmakers and federal regulators to ramp up a production process that will likely take months or even years to meet global demand.

Roughly a half dozen vaccine candidates are being readied for human testing in the U.S. by the end of 2020. But regulatory and logistical hurdles will affect the timeline for when average Americans can get the shot, according to health-care regulatory lawyers.

“It’s not just inventing the vaccine, but how do you scale up to get enough doses out,” said Jim Johnson, a ...