First published in Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper A group of South African scientists and researchers took the first steps in the elusive hunt for a vaccine in the first weeks that the Covid-19 virus started felling lives in the country in the same way it was doing in other parts of the world. Our chase for a vaccine in a world changed by a virus represents humankind as an exquisite ecosystem, each person playing some part – not for glory or personal gain but because our very survival depends on it. The behind-the-scenes work was completed by the first half of the year, so that by the middle of June scientists and researchers were ready with the public announcement that it was all systems go for clinical trials.