"There is more a panicked rush than science right now."
Nope. Just eliminating the excessive bureaucratic bullshit. See "atomic bomb" WWII. The US "can" react quickly if the leadership will LEAD and not obstruct.
Comparing the bomb with a vaccine is Apples and oranges.
The bomb is a very crude device and who cares if the yield is 50% greater than predicted. Just light the thing off and run like hell. The bomb is like hand grenades and horseshoes. You only have to be close.
A vaccine is a different story - a 50% error means that people might become ill or die.
Somehow I bet that if there are problems, the companies will be free of liability.
If the vaccine is guaranteed to work by the companies making it, then all involved will have nothing to worry about.