The new vaccines for Covid-19 with high efficacy (BioNTech and Moderna) will focus attention on the technology platform (mRNA) and the huge increase in computing power that has underpinned the advances in genetics and DNA sequencing.
However, quantum computing offers the chance for an even bigger step forward on this front. With its deep pockets, Amazon has unsurprisingly joined IBM in the race to develop machines that will crunch data much more quickly than even today’s fastest supercomputers.
Medical research will not be the only beneficiary, although it is worth stressing: quantum computers, made available through the cloud (from IBM and Amazon), will bring down the cost of drug development. For the record, Amazon is well ahead of competitors in cloud computing.
For Covid-19, the capacity for Moderna and BioNTech to refine their vaccines should not be underestimated. An efficacy of 94.5% is outstanding, but this is still early days. Even for sceptics in the most rural of US states, a vaccine with close to 100% efficacy would be hard to resist. Technology may yet vanquish Covid-19, pushing the stock market up to new highs in 2021.
