The coronavirus pandemic has been a yearlong war.

There have been front lines and battle plans, equipment deployed and troops activated. There have been far too many casualties. It has been approached as a national security issue because that is exactly what it is — a catastrophic event that threatens the stability of the country.

But as with other wars, there have been moments that stand out as tipping points.

One was the December FDA authorization of first the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and then the Moderna shot a week later.

The vaccine developments, not even a year after the identification of the first cases of the covid-19 virus, were more than just a treatment. They were, like Dr. Jonas Salk’spolio vaccine or the smallpox inoculation, more proactive. They were a way to not react to contracting the disease but a step toward preventing or mitigating it.

In the almost three months since those first shots were delivered into the bared skin of health care workers, there have been many more in Pennsylvania who have stepped up and done their part for this war effort.

Nursing home patients and employees have been vaccinated. So have many others in the Phase 1A category. People with chronic or severe health problems like cancer or diabetes or heart disease. People older than 65.

Others have advocated for important populations to be prioritized. Give the shot to the teachers, they say. Give it to transportation workers. Give it to people who work in prisons and jails.

It is to the credit of everyone not only willing but eager to take their shot that it has been hard to find an appointment to get the vaccine. Yes, there have been distribution problems, and yes, the state could have been better organized — but none of that would have mattered if there weren’t so many people rolling up their sleeves.

Now there is a third option. On Feb. 27, the FDA authorized use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

This vaccine could be a solution to more than just medical problems. The scope of the effort might solve logistics, too. The vaccine is less temperature sensitive than its predecessors — especially the Pfizer offering. It also is a single shot, not a two-step process requiring another round a month or so later. That has proved to be confusing as providers have reserved doses for the second step and then been told to just focus on first shots.

But Johnson & Johnson also is partnering with Merck for production. While already one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Johnson & Johnson is marrying its own resources with the manufacturing machinery of its competition to push out even more product. And Merck knows something about making vaccines, making them for everything from chickenpox to Ebola.

Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday that teachers will be prioritized as the new vaccine is distributed. That goes into a big chunk of those now under Phase 1B, and that kind of progress is exactly what we need to defeat this enemy.

During previous wars, we relied on the folks at home to do their part for the troops. Today the folks at home are more than just the civilian casualties. We are all the battlegrounds where the disease wants to win the day. The vaccine is what can stop that.

Because the best offense is a good defense.

— The Tribune-Review/TNS