A complete return to normalcy depends on one thing: a vaccine. Or so we’re told.

Many of the states’ coronavirus-related restrictions specifically state that the restrictions are applicable until a vaccine becomes widely available. Churches and businesses in Illinois, for example, must limit gathering sizes until the state reaches its final reopening phase, which requires a vaccine or some other ”highly effective” therapeutic. Likewise, schools across the country are introducing a wide swath of regulations that students must abide by if in-person instruction is to resume. These regulations will be reconsidered only after a vaccine is developed.