There is a large caveat, though: The virus is a SARS variant, which in turn is well-studied. Prior research sped up sequencing and analysis significantly. I think we had the first PCR test even before the full genome was sequenced. It is also somewhat easy to target with the mRNA approach. So don't expect the same speed for everything else.
I think this particular virus was one of the best possible for a pandemic. One the one hand it causes a serious, potentially deadly, illness. But on the other hand the illness does not immediately destroy our health system, let alone our industrial basis. It is also ideally suited for the relatively new mRNA vaccines.
This might be cynical, but the whole thing might turn out to be a net positive. Many more viruses could be attacked now. Personalized, immediate cancer treatment could be just one step away after this. Heck, we might even have found the solution to the problem with antibiotics resistent bacteria.
mRNA vaccines can be printed on a DNA printer! You might be interested in this article: Reverse Engineering the source code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine https://twitter.com/sytses/status/1345854099464470528 It lets you see the exact mRNA contents of the BNT162b2 vaccine, and for most parts understand why they are there!
I think this particular virus was one of the best possible for a pandemic. One the one hand it causes a serious, potentially deadly, illness. But on the other hand the illness does not immediately destroy our health system, let alone our industrial basis. It is also ideally suited for the relatively new mRNA vaccines.
This might be cynical, but the whole thing might turn out to be a net positive. Many more viruses could be attacked now. Personalized, immediate cancer treatment could be just one step away after this. Heck, we might even have found the solution to the problem with antibiotics resistent bacteria.