Vincent Rajkumar: Amazing that Eric Feigl-Ding predicted almost 3 years ago that this research that led to mRNA Covid vaccines will win the Nobel Prize!
Vincent Rajkumar, Editor In Chief in Eric Feigl-Ding, Faculty, Chair of Public Health, Chief of COVID Task Force at the New England Complex Systems Institute
”Amazing that Eric Feigl-Ding predicted almost 3 years ago that this research that led to mRNA Covid vaccines will win the Nobel Prize! Eric was among the first to predict the pandemic as well. On Jan 24, 2020 Eric Feigl-Ding posted a massive warning about the impending pandemic: The Holy Mother of God thread. “We are now faced with the most virulent virus epidemic the world has ever seen,” Eric wrote. As I read his thread again today, all of it has sadly come true.
He wrote: “possibly an unchecked pandemic that the world has not seen since the 1918 Spanish Influenza. Let’s hope it doesn’t reach that level but we now live in the modern world with faster airplane than 1918. World Health Organization and CDC needs to declare public health emergency ASAP!”
People quarreled with the R0 that was in Eric Feigl-Ding‘s thread, but most epidemiologists and leaders and organizations missed the forest for the trees. We know what happened since: 240 million cases worldwide, 5 million deaths. 46 million cases in the US, >750,000 deaths.
It required quite a bit of analysis, judgment, and guts to issue that kind of warning. Of course, people didn’t like to hear this kind of prediction. David Wallace-Wells has written about the criticism and pushback Eric faced. And how few listened. For the article click here.
Looking back it was not one lucky prediction. Throughout the pandemic Eric Feigl-Ding has been right numerous times while many other experts who were a lot more optimistic ended up being wrong. From duration of vaccine efficacy to variants to issue of masks.
I remember CDC deciding in June that fully vaccinated can take off their masks. I like many thought it was a reasonable call. Eric disagreed strongly. Turned out he was right. He is one of the people I’m glad I follow coz he is up to date on everything COVID. Thanks Eric.
Note that on the day he made the call, Jan 24, 2020 all of Europe had reported 3 cases. US had reported 2 cases. And Our World in Data doesn’t start tracking till Jan 28, 2020. That’s how early this warning was.
And now, on omicron: On Dec 7, 2021, Eric sounded the alarm that omicron was pandemic 2.0. A month later, our daily new cases have gone up >4 fold. Hospitals overwhelmed.
In 45 days, omicron has caused massive problems. With 20 million cases and 60,000 deaths. Pandemic 2.0.”
Quoting Eric Feigl-Ding’s post from 12.12.20, about the Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Katalin Kariko:
”BREAKING—the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is now approved in the US. But let’s not forget Dr. Katalin Karikó, the pioneer Hungarian-American immigrant scientist who persevered for 40 years to bring mRNA to the world. She will for sure win the Nobel Prize someday…
/03.10.23/… The sexism in academia is real. Dr. Katalin Kariko suffered a lot. So did my mother when she was a young professor. This is why I’m so upset at the University of Pennsylvania for mistreating Dr Kariko all these years, and for using her name today despite mistreating her for decades.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it does bend. I hope the University of Pennsylvania will have the courage to admit they once terribly wronged Dr. Katalin Kariko and apologize and compensate her for their sexist treatment of her. Meantime, enjoy this photo…
Adorable photo of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Katalin Kariko and her Olympic Gold Medal winner daughter. “She did joke that winning the Nobel Prize was not at all like winning at the Olympics… racing and then potentially waiting 10-15 years to find out if you won”.”
More information can be found on the X page of Eric Feigl-Ding.
Source: Vincent Rajkumar/Twitter and Eric Feigl-Ding.