# Why is the vaccination process so complicated/slow? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 25, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-vaccination-process-so-complicated-slow/931468 "2021-01-25T15:53:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 28
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-vaccination-process-so-complicated-slow/931468/28 "2021-02-08T13:16:19Z")
Yes, it’s very complex and requires expensive custom built machines. Someone elsewhere linked to a good article. > [@How fast can we manufacture and distribute vaccines in the US if Biden uses the Defense Production Act](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-can-we-manufacture-and-distribute-vaccines-in-the-us-if-biden-uses-the-defense-production-act/929456/10): > > According to this article, they break down the manufacture and distribution of mRNA vaccines into six steps. They label step 4 as the bottleneck. [https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/02/02/myths-of-vaccine-manufacturing](https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2021/02/02/myths-of-vaccine-manufacturing) Step One: Produce the appropriate stretch of DNA, containing the sequence that you need to have transcribed into mRNA. This is generally done in bacterial culture. Step Two: Produce that mRNA from your DNA template using enzymes in a bioreactor. Step Three: Pr… And Moderna, at least, has specifically suspended its patent on the vaccine for now. [https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/statement-moderna-intellectual-property-matters-during-covid-19](https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/statement-moderna-intellectual-property-matters-during-covid-19) --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-vaccination-process-so-complicated-slow/931468)._