. >> whitaker: kathrin jansen is head of vaccine research and development for pfizer. ork, it's one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. jansen, who developed an interest in science as a child in germany, grew up to develop vaccines for pneumonia and the h.p.v. virus. so, when she first heard of the novel coronavirus, her thoughts turned immediately to a vaccine. when you were starting off on this mission, new york was on fire with this virus. >> jansen: yeah, we were living in a hot zone in new york. and we saw firsthand what was happening every day. and bill, the most chilling thing for me was when we walked our dog. and you see one refrigerated truck after the other appearing in the parking lots in front of the hospitals. >> whitaker: refrigerator truck morgues? >> jansen: morgues, right. that was absolutely fueling the desire to come up with a vaccine no matter what it takes. >> whitaker: this was kind of personal? >> jansen: i took this very personally. i wanted to fight it, beat it, fight it down. it was-- nothing else mattered. >> whitaker: acros

he spoke with pfizer's head of vaccine research and development, kathrin jansen. >> you live in new york when you were starting off on this mission, new york was on fire with this virus. >> yeah, we were living in a hot zone in new york. and we saw firsthand what was happening every day. and, bill, the most chilling thing for me was when we walked our dog and we go by the hospital complexes. and you see one refrigerated truck after the other. appearing in the parking lots in front of the hospitals. >> refrigerator truck morgues. >> morgues, right. it was just chilling. absolutely chilling. and then the economic aspects, as well. that was absolute ly fueling th desire to come up with the vaccine no matter what it takes. >> this was kind of personal. >> it became very personal. >> i saw this as the enemy. >> the virus? >> the virus. i took this very personally. i wanted to fight it. beat it. fight it down. it was -- nothing else mattered. >> this sunday on "60 minutes" we'll have more of that interview plus a closer look at the lab that developed the first authorized vaccine in the u.s. >>