Reacción a "Reactions: Nobel Prize in Physiology awarded to Karikó and Weissman for their discoveries that led to the development of effective mRNA vaccines against covid-19"

I think it is a well-deserved award. It recognises the basic research work of Karikó and Weissman around 2005, which has led to the development of a new class of mRNA vaccines that have saved millions of lives in the pandemic.   

In my view, it is a prize for basic science and its potential application to solve real-world problems. It is an example of the perseverance of researchers to go ahead with their mRNA work, despite many refusals to fund it. Although there were some attempts to use mRNA as a therapeutic molecule in gene therapy or cancer before 2020, the pandemic was finally the opportunity to apply it against a new emerging virus. We have all experienced the success of the results first-hand.  

For those who doubt covid vaccines because of their rapid development, this award also demonstrates that mRNA vaccines have a long research history of more than 20 years behind them.  

The sum of the prior knowledge gained by Kariko and Weissman and the opportunity to turn it into a pharmaceutical product have been instrumental in overcoming the worst of the pandemic.