We easily could have done deeper studies. This is a highly parallelisable problem. The issue is all the regulatory red tape and extremely overburdening costs associated with clinical trials.
After the initial safety trials showing that these vaccines have no significant adverse effects, we should have just gotten a dozen YOLO engineers and statisticians to run any permutation of dosage, duration, and vaccine candidate; much like how software companies run thousands of A/B tests at scale.
It's a frigging pandemic with millions of deaths, there's no time to waste jacking off bureaucrats.
Really, there's no good reason that clinical trials should cost $$$$-$$$$$ per participant. Here's how much it should cost:
~$20: targeted ads enrolling one participant
~$20: doses of the vaccine for one participant
~$30: distribution and logistics
~$100: human staffing and follow up
~$5: experiment analysis
Instead, everything gets ballooned up by 10x or 50x because of arcane legislation. In the middle of a global pandemic.
Every time I read these blanket unsubstantiated claims about the evils of regulation, I’m reminded of Chesterton’s Fence:
> There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”
> we should have just gotten a dozen YOLO engineers and statisticians to run any permutation of dosage, duration, and vaccine candidate; much like how software companies run thousands of A/B tests at scale.
I, for one, would try to run clinical trials the total opposite from software companies.
"Fail fast, fail often" nor "Iterate fast, release often" really work for healthcare.
After the initial safety trials showing that these vaccines have no significant adverse effects, we should have just gotten a dozen YOLO engineers and statisticians to run any permutation of dosage, duration, and vaccine candidate; much like how software companies run thousands of A/B tests at scale.
It's a frigging pandemic with millions of deaths, there's no time to waste jacking off bureaucrats.
Really, there's no good reason that clinical trials should cost $$$$-$$$$$ per participant. Here's how much it should cost:
~$20: targeted ads enrolling one participant
~$20: doses of the vaccine for one participant
~$30: distribution and logistics
~$100: human staffing and follow up
~$5: experiment analysis
Instead, everything gets ballooned up by 10x or 50x because of arcane legislation. In the middle of a global pandemic.