LONGSHOT

Interesting stories about the invention of vaccines :

When Salk arrived at the University of Michigan for the big reveal of the study's results, he was still in the dark himself. But they told him the morning of April 12, 1955, that the vaccine was up to 90% effective. It was a huge relief for Salk. The rest of the world would find out shortly, when Francis announced to 500 scientists and physicians gathered inside University of Michigan's Rackham Auditorium that "the vaccine works. It is safe, effective, and potent."

After the press conference, CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow asked Salk who owned the vaccine. "Well the people, I would say," Salk said. "There is no patent. Can you patent the sun?"

The vaccine turned Salk into something of a national messiah.

Dwight H. Murray, chairman of the board of directors of the American Medical Association, called the news "one of the greatest events in the history of medicine." President Dwight D. Eisenhower later hailed Salk as a "benefactor of mankind."

But it was a different story with the pioneers of Covid vaccines:

None of the scientists who contributed to the success of the COVID-19 vaccines have been invited to the White House or received presidential citations as of the summer of 2021. At a White House press briefing in April 2021, Fauci did offer a history of the vaccines, giving credit to Katalin Karikó, Drew Weissman, Barney Graham, Jason McLellan, Kizzmekia Corbett, and a few others. Still, none of them are household names. Karikó and Weissman are often mentioned as possible future Nobel laureates.

When asked about the lack of fame, Graham said, "I’ve never had an aspiration to be a household name. We chose the life we have. It's been very gratifying work."

I think the reason is the widespread of antivax movement in this era :

Antivax sentiment grew so strong that some on the right looked for any alternative. Florida governor Ron DeSantis, while opposing vaccine mandates, set up more than a dozen monoclonal antibody treatment sites for anyone who was infected. The cost to the government was $1,250 per dose, as opposed to $20 for a vaccine. Monoclonal antibodies may help once you get infected, but the vaccines keep you out of the hospital. The truly desperate were even buying a deworming medication for horses and livestock at farm supply stores and swallowing it, despite warnings from the FDA that it could be dangerous. "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, yall. Stop it," the FDA tweeted.

This is an important book about vaccines especially the development process of Covid19 vaccines and its politics.