Government-backed scientists spent countless hours in 2020 applying advanced research and sophisticated technological capabilities to help the United States better grasp and effectively fight COVID-19.
Much of their efforts built on prior work that started unfolding long before the pandemic even posed a threat, but modern, real-world impacts hastened by the global emergency are now beginning to come to light.
For instance, genetic mutations within and helping strengthen five potential vaccines—including those developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna—hinged upon more than a decade of research advanced by the Energy Department’s Advanced Photon Source, or APS.
“The development of the COVID-19 vaccines may seem like an overnight success story, but it was based on years of research, some of it at publicly funded facilities like the APS at Argonne National Laboratory. Knowledge gained at the APS during these years helped make COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna more effective,” Robert Fischetti, group leader of Argonne’s X-ray Science Division and Life Sciences Advisor to the APS Director recently told Nextgov via email. “This research was done without any idea of how important it would be for us in 2020.”
Here’s a look at how the U.S. government brought powerful technologies like the APS and supercomputers to the fight against the modern pandemic.
Computing vs. COVID-19
America boasts some of the most powerful high-performance supercomputing resources on the planet, several of which were quickly pivoted and pooled to hone in on the novel coronavirus almost as soon as it surfaced. Such advanced systems can compute heaps of data much faster and with more accuracy than traditional machines—and in the pandemic, speed was of the essence. Ad hoc and federally coordinated supercomputing ..
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