There doesn’t have to be a trade-off between good research and fast research.
THE PANDEMIC HIGHLIGHTED broad problems in research: that many studies were hyped, error-ridden, or even fraudulent, and that misinformation could spread rapidly. But it also demonstrated what was possible.
The accepted wisdom is that careful research to develop new treatments take many years, if not decades. It is the reason why there has been such a delay between the commencement of clinical trials and the availability of the treatment. That is why some worried that the availability of Covid treatments was an indication the research been rushed and so the vaccines where are unsafe. The reasoning being, fast research couldn’t be quality research. However, the response to the pandemic has shown it’s possible to do quality research research quickly.
Not everyone saw the speed of these advancements positively: The belief that vaccines were “rushed,” for example, was one of the most common reasons that people delayed taking them. Many people believe that doing science quickly would mean doing away with standards and creating research that’s sloppy or even dangerous.
But that isn’t always true, and the urgency of Covid-19 led many people to adapt, produce, and improve research at a quality and speed that few expected. Not only could we avoid those trade-offs, but we could improve science in ways that make it faster—and the pandemic has shown us how.