That’s not the only reason, and I gather it’s not even the main reason. Rhinoviruses and coronaviruses infect epithelial cells, which don’t have a blood supply, and given that your blood is where [the relevant part of] your immune system lives… well, I haven’t heard anyone say “vaccines don’t work against coronaviruses”, but reading between the lines, the current state of the art is that vaccines don’t work against coronaviruses.
There is more to it than that, but the widespread sense that scientists will just follow a recipe and we’ll have a Salk-like vaccine in a year does not accurately reflect what those scientists are saying. At the level of detail the news deals in, a better summary would be that we should not anticipate a vaccine.
On the other hand, if anyone has the impression from the news that a vaccine is a precondition to ever being allowed out of your house, don’t worry, because that is also incorrect.
the shape of human civilization has been permanently changed from what it was before.
I know no one wants to hear this right now, but the historical impact of covid-19 itself will be, more or less: nothing. Plagues are such a monotonously routine part of human existence that history scarcely bothers to record most of them. We happen to live in a time when infectious diseases have been steeply declining, and we may be facing a very slight move back toward the historical norm. But still nothing like the situation folks lived with every day back when old people were kids.
It seems clear that we are going to need time to collectively wrap our heads around this – and it’s unfortunate that we’re currently besieged by political forces that feed on this sort of confusion – but we will eventually get there. It’s only been a couple of months.
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So what you’re saying is that if I drink Tom Hanks ’ blood I’ll be unstoppable.
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Are anti-viral drugs still a possibility?
If we create areas where the virus is held back (New Zealand and Australia are examples) are we creating a permanent requirement for isolation from the world?
Is it still better to let the virus in so the immune system does it’s thing?
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I was thinking about that. This is serious but not “deadly”. The Plague, even the Flu of 1918, they were a long time ago. They were deadly because it was different time, during the Plague probably science and medicine not well developed. So only a vague methodology to react. The current stay at home is in part because we are more advanced,and less willing to dismiss those who could die. It spread fast because we have modern, rapid transport, but we also have modern science to solve things, and rapid communication to spread news of the disease.
As long as we don’t all suddenly develop a penchant for collecting archaic typewriters, it sounds great.
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Fuck all that post-/apocalyptic BS, and the people write it! 
Hard Day’s Knight sounds like a brilliant concept. I want to watch that film.
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I wonder is plasma contains the donor’s DNA, like a regular blood transfusion? If so, as this plasma is going in to the bodies of patients with suppressed immune systems, will this lead to Artificial Chimeras, where patients’ absorb Hanks’ DNA, and his DNA starts to turn up at crime scenes and in paternity suits in the future.
Some time in the future…
“We’ve swabbed the murder weapon, and the wielder was St Tom Hanks!”
“Again? That’s the 93rd case this year; and Hanks’ died over a decade ago!”
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That’s a trick question, right? The answer is clearly Chevy Chase de-aged via CGI!
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It’ll protect you from COVID-19, but the side effect is, it makes you Big.
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Andy Sirkis; these days the answer always seems to be Andy Sirkis. I bet he can absolutely nail Hanks’ body language.
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At this point, I’m just hoping the movie doesn’t turn into another remake of The Omega Man. 
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The science fiction film that popped into my mind was “The Thing”, the one with Kurt Rusell.
They try to electrocute some blood, and the blood tries to get away.
I definitely like The Omega Man better than the Will Smith remake, I Am Legend.
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Interesting video on the subject of a vaccine:
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Too many films starring Charlton Heston keep running through my mind.
- People huddled in their homes like the Passover scenes in The Ten Commandments
- People in power who want to treat the elderly like Sol in Soylent Green
- Anti-science mobs and search for a vaccine like The Omega Man
- A pandemic affecting people and empowering/liberating animals like Planet of the Apes
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“This is the blood of our Savior…”
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There’s mounting evidence that survivors are subject to a whole host of serious health effects, such as organ damage, vascular system damage, seizures, and strokes. In that regard there is a parallel to Polio - even survivors may be permanently afflicted with serious (and expensive) health problems.
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