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Comment by baronvonsp | original | Global review confirms mRNA vaccines are safe, effective and full of promise 
[−]baronvonsp · 2026-07-02 Thu 02:00 UTC · link
Yeah that's called survivorship bias. The ones that make it to market can be wildly profitable to manufacture. Doing all the work to sift through what does and doesn't work to discover new vaccines wouldn't happen without public funding.
[−]timr · 2026-07-02 Thu 02:18 UTC · link
No, that’s called pharmaceutical development. That’s the business.

We don’t generally fund Merck’s R&D with federal money. You’ll note the following critical detail from the article:

> That will impact 22 projects being led by major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, for vaccines against bird flu and other viruses, HHS said.

We’ve gone so far round the bend with partisanship that straight-up corporate welfare has become a left-wing cause.

[−]quinnjh · 2026-07-02 Thu 02:42 UTC · link
Certainly not _all_ of it, but a few billion at least.

for the curious:

https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=5ec35bf87ec1fd63d28d...