The resulting genetic sequence was placed into ModernaвЂ™s mRNA based vaccine platform and produce an investigational vaccine ready for clinical trials within six weeks. Once the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was available researchers were able to identify the part of the virus to target in their vaccine and introduce safety features. The approach utilized by Moderna Therapeutics and the NIH provide a prime example of the benefits of this approach. Rather than depending on random mutations to occur over prolonged periods of culture in culture to create an ever-safer vaccine product, researchers can design the vaccine and engineer safety features directly into the product. Gene therapy techniques provide incredible efficiencies, safety, and efficacy in comparison to the вЂњold fashionedвЂќ approach. For example, the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine utilized in much of the world took 13 years to develop before it could be tested in clinical trials. However, enough organism must be grown to utilize for testing. The attenuated or weakened organism can then be tested as a vaccine strain. The microbe is grown for multiple generations outside of its natural host until random mutations cause it to lose the ability to cause disease in the natural host. Traditional vaccine development techniques involve culturing microorganisms in a lab. What has changed? Is this new approach used to develop COVID-19 vaccines safe? Genetic Engineering for Faster Development In 2020, gene therapy techniques shortened that development timeframe to mere weeks. In the past, it could take years to develop an investigational vaccine and several additional years for testing in clinical trials. But what about the safety of vaccines being developed and tested at warp speed?Д¬ompared to the processes of 20 years ago, development of the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates has been remarkably swift thanks to genetic engineering and the additional resources afforded via Operation Warp Speed.

A common trope in sci-fi movies involves concerns about potentially smashing into uncharted objects while traveling at warp speed or hyperspace.

Warp speed vaccine