4 ms·

I think that's a common misconception here. Common cold viruses are very frequent targets of research - not with the end goal of creating an actual vaccine for

I think that's a common misconception here. Common cold viruses are very frequent targets of research - not with the end goal of creating an actual vaccine for a specific cold virus but for covering blind spots in our insight and processes that can be weaponized to create a vaccine when an outbreak happens. I'd say that our system is working - developing several working vaccines for a novel virus in under a year is pretty darn impressive.

simonh 6y ago
Especially considering several of the actual vaccine candidates were developed in low single digit months, it's the evaluation production and testing that's taking most of the time.
dividedbyzero 6y ago
I'm not aware of a single working Covid-19 vaccine, which ones would that be? There are promising candidates, sure, but I don't think any have already been shown to be both effective and safe, which I'd say is required for one to be working, on the timescales that are needed, and I wouldn't know how one might do that so quickly. The current forerunners might well not work out, though I hope at least one of them will work, but my understanding is that anything immunity-related is fiendishly hard.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  The one constant in all reporting and discussion about potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is wishful thinking. I don't blame the pharma execs for that; talking up their stocks is their job. Everyone else, though, could do with a great deal more skepticism. We'll be lucky to have a commonly-available, somewhat-effective vaccine next year. If you had listened to the cheerleaders in June, you would be shocked to learn we don't have multiple such vaccines now. Regular mask wearing and careful avoidance of problematic public situations is already more effective than any vaccine for this virus will ever be.

4 ms·

I think that's a common misconception here. Common cold viruses are very frequent targets of research - not with the end goal of creating an actual vaccine for

by skim_milk 6y ago

simonh 6y ago
Especially considering several of the actual vaccine candidates were developed in low single digit months, it's the evaluation production and testing that's taking most of the time.
dividedbyzero 6y ago
I'm not aware of a single working Covid-19 vaccine, which ones would that be? There are promising candidates, sure, but I don't think any have already been shown to be both effective and safe, which I'd say is required for one to be working, on the timescales that are needed, and I wouldn't know how one might do that so quickly. The current forerunners might well not work out, though I hope at least one of them will work, but my understanding is that anything immunity-related is fiendishly hard.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  The one constant in all reporting and discussion about potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is wishful thinking. I don't blame the pharma execs for that; talking up their stocks is their job. Everyone else, though, could do with a great deal more skepticism. We'll be lucky to have a commonly-available, somewhat-effective vaccine next year. If you had listened to the cheerleaders in June, you would be shocked to learn we don't have multiple such vaccines now. Regular mask wearing and careful avoidance of problematic public situations is already more effective than any vaccine for this virus will ever be.