There is definitely a narrow window of opportunity approaching. As the vaccine(s) are distributed and society starts shifting back to whatever our new normal is, people are (understandably) going...
There is definitely a narrow window of opportunity approaching. As the vaccine(s) are distributed and society starts shifting back to whatever our new normal is, people are (understandably) going to want to move on from this shitty shitty year. After a certain amount of time, the memories will begin to fade and so with it the urgency of trying to prevent this from ever happening again. Before that happens, but while the vaccines are still rolling out, there's a time to leverage the public good will and allocate the money for this to happen. It could be the most popular bi-partisan action every undertaken if congress can set their egos aside and actually cooperate (so yea..... that'll never happen).
I have my doubts that a few interviews would have made a difference. People talk about the possibility of disasters they’ve never experienced, but this doesn’t seem to translate into the political...
I have my doubts that a few interviews would have made a difference. People talk about the possibility of disasters they’ve never experienced, but this doesn’t seem to translate into the political will to do anything about it. With the major exception of war.
Even experience may not do it. After a fire or flood, often people will want to rebuild in the same place.
There is a massive difference between having a thing and knowing that you have it. In the case of Modena's vaccine candidate, yes, development was stunningly fast, literally a matter of days...
There is a massive difference between having a thing and knowing that you have it.
In the case of Modena's vaccine candidate, yes, development was stunningly fast, literally a matter of days following sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome. This is a process which can take years or decaades, or never --- there are no vaccines for HIV, hepatitis C, or herpes, for example. But this still left critical questions unanswered:
Is it safe? "First, do no harm."
Is it effective? Does it actually stop the disease?
How long does immunity last?
Can production be scaled up? With two-dose delivery, we will need approximately 15 billion innoculations prepared and distributed worldwide.
What storage and handdling requirements are there?
How does the therapy compare against alternatives in efficacy, safety, handling, ptroduction, administration, and cost?
That information, and actual certification, production, distribution, administration, and followup, take time.
The fact that mRNA vaccine development is so rapid bodes well for the next outbreak. And there will be one.
Look too for a future Nobel in medicine for the developers.
I think the later part of this article is more interesting, where it talks about the proposals for preparing ahead of time for making a vaccine in case of a pandemic. For example, stage one trials...
I think the later part of this article is more interesting, where it talks about the proposals for preparing ahead of time for making a vaccine in case of a pandemic. For example, stage one trials can be done in advance for the most likely threats, resulting in a head start.
It seems that this pandemic wasn't caused by difficult virus, like HIV. It was very similar to the SARS virus.
There is definitely a narrow window of opportunity approaching. As the vaccine(s) are distributed and society starts shifting back to whatever our new normal is, people are (understandably) going to want to move on from this shitty shitty year. After a certain amount of time, the memories will begin to fade and so with it the urgency of trying to prevent this from ever happening again. Before that happens, but while the vaccines are still rolling out, there's a time to leverage the public good will and allocate the money for this to happen. It could be the most popular bi-partisan action every undertaken if congress can set their egos aside and actually cooperate (so yea..... that'll never happen).
I have my doubts that a few interviews would have made a difference. People talk about the possibility of disasters they’ve never experienced, but this doesn’t seem to translate into the political will to do anything about it. With the major exception of war.
Even experience may not do it. After a fire or flood, often people will want to rebuild in the same place.
There is a massive difference between having a thing and knowing that you have it.
In the case of Modena's vaccine candidate, yes, development was stunningly fast, literally a matter of days following sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome. This is a process which can take years or decaades, or never --- there are no vaccines for HIV, hepatitis C, or herpes, for example. But this still left critical questions unanswered:
That information, and actual certification, production, distribution, administration, and followup, take time.
The fact that mRNA vaccine development is so rapid bodes well for the next outbreak. And there will be one.
Look too for a future Nobel in medicine for the developers.
I think the later part of this article is more interesting, where it talks about the proposals for preparing ahead of time for making a vaccine in case of a pandemic. For example, stage one trials can be done in advance for the most likely threats, resulting in a head start.
It seems that this pandemic wasn't caused by difficult virus, like HIV. It was very similar to the SARS virus.
RNA vaccines have been around since the late 90s so a Nobel Prize is long overdue.