The Atlantic Spain’s strategy for rolling out the smallpox vaccine ran into some very 19th-century problems. Edward Jenner performing his first smallpox vaccination on a child in 1796.Science History Images / Alamy When the United States green-lit two coronavirus vaccines in December, it was a rare bright spot during this pandemic: Scientists had developed a vaccine for COVID-19 far faster than any other vaccine in history. The end finally seemed at hand. Since then, many, many things have gone wrong. In mid-December, Pfizer reported that it had millions of doses sitting around in a warehouse, and no instructions on where to send them. Medical teams trained to vaccinate masses of people have been sitting infuriatingly idle. Health departments originally stuck to banking hours instead of vaccinating around the clock. Governors have slowed things down by relying on confusing guidelines about who can get vaccinated when. Unused doses have expired and been thrown away.