| > it isn’t exactly high-tech or clever Read the history section of the rna vaccine wiki: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_vaccine You’re right, we’ve understood that this could be done for a long time. Not quite the 70s, but.. at least the 90s. But believing something is possible and knowing how to do it are different: 1989 - injected rna maybe goes into cells 1990 - proof injected rna creates proteins 1994 - proof injected rna creates immune responses Then: “2005 they published a joint paper that solved one of the key technical barriers by using modified nucleosides to get mRNA inside human cells without setting off the body's defense system” That kicked off a ton of research, but: “Up until 2020, these mRNA biotech companies had poor results testing mRNA drugs for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases; selected targets for cancer; and rare diseases like Crigler–Najjar syndrome” But why did they spend from 2005 to 2020 working on mRNA drugs and not vaccines? Capitalism. Vaccines are not generally profitable (take once, you’re done) - so vaccines are not an appealing target for a startup with investors wanting big returns. (Source: https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/10/moderna-trouble-mrna/) |