Billions of dollars have been spent on fighting the pandemic, with much of the money being spent on vaccine development. Other research areas have also received a major boost during the pandemic – and the results could make a big difference to public health in the future.
Here are some of the big winners in the pandemic-inspired funding race.
mRNA vaccines – The astonishing success of both the Pfizer / BioNtech and Moderna vaccines has in the future laid the foundation for the development of other highly adaptable vaccines. The beauty of the vaccines is that they are basically blueprints – they use a genetic code to tell the body to build small molecular targets. The body’s immune system then goes to the target practice to the city and builds up immunity so that when a real threat – such as the coronavirus – emerges, it can react quickly.
Researchers have been working on the basic science around mRNA vaccines for years, but so far could not really get a big break. They got money, but remained in the shadow of the ‘biotech valley of death’ – the gap between a research discovery and commercialization. Now that they have proven themselves in clinical trials and vaccinated millions of people, they are suddenly ready for a tremendous boom. With the rise of production, researchers see hope for diseases, including HIV and sickle cell anemia.
Their success is a major victory for drug companies (and the stock market), but also for researchers and smaller suppliers. Special biotechnology companies that manufacture the nanoparticles containing the vaccines have strong growth, and some have increased their production 50 times. The authorization, excellent clinical trial results and investments in this type of manufacturing could mean that we will see more mRNA vaccines in the future.
Rapid molecular testing – Prior to COVID-19, a handful of companies were conducting diagnostic tests for flu, sexually transmitted diseases and a load of other ailments. These quick, easy tests can look for the genetic material of a virus in patient samples without requiring a slow journey to the laboratory.
When these companies started seeing the reports about this new virus, a lot of it turned around. Their tests can detect viruses – why not train them to detect them? this virus? Suddenly, they disappeared from an academic exercise (also in the Valley of Death) to investors who had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into their technology. These quick tests may make it easier to diagnose diseases in the future. Read my colleague Nicole Wetsman’s excellent story of this week for more information on the rise in rapid molecular testing.
Lang COVID – This one is a little different from the others, but it is also a striking new area of research that emerged during the pandemic. A few weeks ago, the National Institutes of Health announced a new $ 1.15 billion commitment to research ‘long COVID’. Some people who become infected with the virus have symptoms that last for months – and researchers still do not know why.
The four-year initiative will help drive research into why it happens, who is affected and what the long-term consequences are, among others. This is a huge boost for people suffering from long COVID and other diseases with a long recovery time – whether it is viral or not. These types of symptoms are often overlooked, but as Julia Belluz points out Vox, they are certainly not unique to COVID.
With all this money, scientists could begin to wrestle with a new, emerging threat. The millions, and in some cases, billions of dollars have allowed new technologies to prove themselves. These are investments that have the potential to change the way we look at older diseases that have been with us for centuries, in addition to newer, emerging threats.
The question now is how we will transfer the urgency and funding in medicine more widely after this particular pandemic has passed us by.
Here’s what happened this week.
Research
Women report worse side effects after a COVID-19 vaccine
As with many other vaccines, women tend to respond differently to COVID-19 shots, often reporting worse side effects than men. (Melinda Wenner Moyer / The New York Times)
Unlock the mysteries of long COVID
Take a deep look at some of the existing research on long COVID in this extensive feature of The Atlantic Ocean. (Meghan O’Rourke / The Atlantic Ocean)
Development
Meet Dr. B, the company that promises a better way to spread residual vaccinations
Attempts to connect people with remaining vaccines in the US have begun to converge around a startup called Dr. B. Here it works. (Russell Brandom / The edge)
Oxford-AstraZeneca: EU says ‘no indication’ vaccination related to blood clots
A number of countries have suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for fear it could be linked to blood clots. But shortly afterwards, the EU regulator said there was no indication that the shots were related to blood clots. (BBC)
COVID-19 vaccines targeted at different variants are in Moderna, Novavax
Businesses start with vaccines that target multiple variants of the coronavirus instead of a single variant. (Jared Hopkins / The Wall Street Journal)
Perspectives:
On March 10, I take a selfie with a woman who fell asleep on me during my commute. I joked that ‘social distance in NYC is going well!’ The next day I showed up at the office and only a handful of my colleagues were in, but all the snacks were gone. I had a few bags of chips stored at my desk, and I used chopsticks to eat them because I was afraid to touch my mouth.
– Peripheral science‘s own Cory Zapatka remembers a year ago this week when the pandemic was officially declared. He and others Edge staff shared their memories from the beginning of the pandemic.
They’re not saying, ‘Yes, I ended up here because of the coronavirus … But what they’re telling you is a chaotic world, of’ Yes, I’m not doing my business anymore ‘,’ I ‘I do no more my music, ” It’s hard to go to school in the morning, ” I struggle to wake up, ” I’m fed up with the mask. ”
– Dr. Richard Delorme tells the Associated Press about the children he treats in a pediatric hospital in France. There has been a worldwide increase in mental health issues in children during this pandemic.
More than numbers
For the more than 118,910,684 people worldwide who tested positive, your path to recovery can be smooth.
To the families and friends of the 2,641,844 people who died worldwide – 532,593 people in the US – your loved ones will not be forgotten.
Stay safe everyone.
Correction 13-03-2021 11:00: A previous version of this article misplaced the global death toll. More than 2 641 844 people died worldwide, not 118 910 684. We regret the mistake.