Diving into the real timeline behind Operation Warp Speed's coronavirus vaccine initiative

Welcome to Dispensed Daily, your daily dose of healthcare news from Business Insider's healthcare editor Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer and the healthcare team. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday.

Hello,

Today in healthcare news: Trump's Operation Warp Speed is targeting March 2021 for mass-distribution of a coronavirus vaccine, why temperature scans are effectively useless, and inside a mask-making New York startup.

I'm your host of today's Dispensed Daily, Andrew Dunn, the healthcare team's pharma and biotech reporter.

Trump wants to deliver a coronavirus vaccine by January. Even if he hits that ambitious goal, you probably won't get a shot for months.

• The US government's Operation Warp Speed anticipates it will take until March 2021 to deliver 300 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
• The ambitious vaccine initiative often suggests the goal is to deliver the vaccine doses by January 2021.
• Business Insider confirmed OWS expects to have initial doses available by January, but it will take several additional months to produce and deliver 300 million doses.

Read the full story from Andrew Dunn here>>

Coronavirus temperature scans are nothing more than pandemic security theater. In some cases, they're dangerous.

• Public thermometer scans for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are not only useless, they may be fueling the virus's spread.
• On-the-go temperature checks are wildly inaccurate.
• Also, not everyone with COVID-19 has a fever, so such temperature reading may lull people into a false sense of security.

Read the full story from Hilary Brueck here>>

How a teacher and mother launched a successful reusable face mask company in just a few weeks while balancing a full-time job

• Carly Castle, a special education teacher from New York City, and her husband started eco-friendly mask company CastleGrade to curb shortages of personal protective gear and offer a reusable option.
• She collaborated with doctors and engineers to develop a safe, sustainable mask — made of medical-grade silicone instead of N95 cloth — in just a few short weeks while managing her duties as a teacher and mother.
• Now, Castle said CastleGrade sells around 300 to 400 units daily to customers ranging from families to medical groups.

Read the full story from Brittney Oliver here>>

More stories we're reading:

• This Bill Gates-backed coronavirus vaccine developer has skyrocketed 431% in just 2 days after going public (Markets Insider)
• Seven months later, what we know about Covid-19 — and the pressing questions that remain (Stat)
• Epidemiologists debunk the 14 biggest coronavirus myths (Business Insider)
• Walgreens, CVS pharmacists to check for coronavirus symptoms, wear face shields during flu shots (USA Today)

We have 20 days until Labor Day, proving 2020 moves blazingly fast and agonizingly slow at the same time. I'm trying to enjoy summer (in a COVID-conscious way, of course) while it's still around from the North Carolina beaches.

I've also enjoyed vicariously living in Zoom calls with sources who are on their way to ice-fishing in Iceland or vacationing on a Mediterranean island. Let me know where you've been or plan to go: adunn@businessinsider.com.

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- Andrew