Filling the COVID Vaccine Gaps

**DIY COVID-19 Vaccines: A Tale of Innovation and Ingenuity**

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have turned to innovative solutions to address challenges, particularly in accessing vaccines. This article delves into two fascinating stories of individuals leveraging their skills to create their own vaccination solutions, highlighting both the potential and implications of such endeavors.

**John Wensworth: Crafting a DIY COVID-19 Vaccine**

John Wensworth, a bioengineer with minimal wet lab experience from his undergraduate days, embarked on an intriguing project—creating his own COVID-19 vaccine. His journey began with researching the feasibility of homemade vaccines and discovered that it could be done without specialized equipment or licensing, provided it wasn't distributed to others.

The most significant cost in John's venture was $850 for custom synthesized peptides, which are short protein segments from the COVID virus. These peptides, each under 25 amino acids, pose no danger as they cannot function as proteins. John sourced these online, realizing that companies offer affordable synthesis services. He opted to purchase double the required amount at minimal extra cost, anticipating potential mistakes.

The process involved dissolving each component separately and freezing them until needed. A crucial step was circularizing the peptides by adding activated charcoal and shaking the mixture for three hours. Finally, he mixed everything, pipetted it into doses, and administered it via nasal application, believing it to be safer and more effective since the virus enters through the nose.

Despite his success, John chose not to publish his recipe, prompting calls for further exploration of this approach. His project underscores the potential for DIY vaccines, especially mRNA-based ones, which are inherently safe.

**Hugh Ma: Turbo Vaxx - Simplifying Vaccine Appointment Booking**

While John focused on creating a vaccine, Hugh Ma addressed another challenge: navigating the complex vaccine appointment system. Frustrated by the difficulty in securing an appointment for his mother in New York City, Hugh developed "Turbo Vaxx," a website that streamlined the process.

In just two weeks and for $50, Hugh created Turbo Vaxx, which scoured multiple sites to find available appointments. His initiative not only helped his family but also gained traction, aiding others in overcoming the same obstacles. This story mirrors a broader trend where individuals use tech skills to innovate during crises.

**Implications of DIY Vaccines**

The stories of John and Hugh highlight the potential of citizen science and innovation during public health crises. DIY mRNA vaccines, unlike traditional ones, pose minimal risk due to their harmless nature. However, challenges remain, such as verifying efficacy and addressing regulatory hurdles.

John's nasal vaccine approach is particularly noteworthy for its method of delivery, potentially offering better immune responses where the virus enters. Yet, it raises questions about testing methods, which currently focus on blood tests, possibly missing nasally administered vaccines' effects.

**Conclusion**

These tales of innovation during COVID-19 offer a glimpse into the future of citizen science and healthcare. While DIY vaccines like John's are experimental, they challenge conventional approaches and inspire further exploration. Meanwhile, projects like Turbo Vaxx exemplify how technology can be harnessed to address systemic issues in vaccine distribution.

As we navigate future health crises, such stories remind us that innovation thrives when individuals are empowered to tackle challenges creatively, fostering a culture where science and technology work hand-in-hand for the greater good.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is twit this is from a blog called less wrong lesswrong.com john wensworth he's making his own covid19 vaccine okay he says he says first of all i have a little wet lab experience for my undergraduate days but the skills needed are pretty minimal all the materials and equipment to make the vaccine cost about a thousand dollars you do not need any special license or anything like that you don't need fda approval as long as you're not giving it to anybody but yourself and your family the largest majority of the cost 850 was the peptides these you can buy these i had no idea you can buy them online they're the main active ingredients of the vaccine short segments of protein from the covid virus they're all fewer than 25 amino acids so they're not they can't function as proteins they're not dangerous for instance as an example covid's spike protein has 1273 amino acids so less than 25 the whole point of it is it's not dangerous it can't do anything to you but your immune system looks at it and goes that sequence don't let that in that's what gives you the immunity the peptides are custom synthesized i had no idea there are companies which will do this any short peptide sequence you want there are dozens of them online you can use the cheapest ones you don't need to purify them they don't need any special modifications you don't need much the minimum order size from the company we used would have been sufficient for 250 doses we bought twice as much because it only cost 50 extra to get double the peptides and extras are nice in the case of mistakes but he doesn't need to give this stuff to anybody else he's not it's just him and his wife um you need a stir plate beakers micro centrifuge tubes 10 and 50 milliliter vials of pipette in the 0.1 to 1 milliliter range and pipette tips all available on amazon here's the other materials they're sold as supplements ketosan and sodium tripoli phosphate they're also maybe a little vinegar and deionized ionized water you can get everything on amazon uh simple to do you just this is hysterical you prepare the solutions of each component dissolve it separately stick in the freezer until it's needed circularized two of the peptides which means really just adding a few grains of activated charcoal to the tube and shaking it for three hours so maybe you need a little shaking machine then back in the freezer when it's time for a batch take everything out of the freezer mix it together pipe it into it to be a tic toc recipe this is hysterical finally and this is the thing it goes up your nose it's not an injection that makes it both less dangerous but also a little harder to prove that it's working because all of the current tests are blood tests and for the antibodies because you he's going to he and his wife are going to get any body test to see if it did anything and and he's you know he says and on the one hand putting in your nose is probably a good idea because that's where you want the immunity because that's how the virus gets in on the other hand unfortunately all the uh all the antibody tests or blood tests so they it may not be that you get an immune response or a strong immune response in the blood if you put it up your nose anyway it's a great article he's going to stay tuned he's he's going to let us know how the tests work uh wow good on you for trying um he says you can't hurt yourself he because it's because the way it is it's just not you know worst case it doesn't work uh well let's hope he says it's a fun project in its own right and it gets dramatically cheaper with more people remember a thousand dollars bought enough supplies for 500 doses the largest benefits you've been wasting your time trying to i'm sorry i'm gonna do yeah i might do this i mean if you do it just also make sure you get the vaccine later what if i vaccinate or you see it's not a vaccine and what if i did this for the whole company john would you all did would you all do it that would be no i think this would be a great story podcast company vaccinates its entire staff using homemade vaccine i'm in that's that's just what's so cool about mrna vaccines as opposed see if this were you know a traditional vaccine this i wouldn't do it because you're you know it's a little more dangerous but an mrna vaccine is harmless now he doesn't unfortunately doesn't publish the recipe what peptides to get i might have to send him a note so dr mom's advice i i said before the show that i uh i think i got a delayed reaction to the shot like two weeks later yeah did she say that that's possible oh wow she said go get a test no she said you can still get it after the first shot get a test yeah you gotta get two yes you gotta get two yeah i love this guy uh hugh ma huge ma i can't be how he pronounces his name huge ma he works at airbnb as a software engineer it was so he was trying to sign up his mom for a vaccine in new york city was so complicated he decided to develop a site he did in two weeks cost him fifty dollars called turbo vaxx that went out and went to all the different sites because apparently there are many many different sites to try to find an appointment in the city and state official systems do it yourself it's what uh it's what all the kids are doing now you got the tech skills make your own vaccine make your own websitethis is twit this is from a blog called less wrong lesswrong.com john wensworth he's making his own covid19 vaccine okay he says he says first of all i have a little wet lab experience for my undergraduate days but the skills needed are pretty minimal all the materials and equipment to make the vaccine cost about a thousand dollars you do not need any special license or anything like that you don't need fda approval as long as you're not giving it to anybody but yourself and your family the largest majority of the cost 850 was the peptides these you can buy these i had no idea you can buy them online they're the main active ingredients of the vaccine short segments of protein from the covid virus they're all fewer than 25 amino acids so they're not they can't function as proteins they're not dangerous for instance as an example covid's spike protein has 1273 amino acids so less than 25 the whole point of it is it's not dangerous it can't do anything to you but your immune system looks at it and goes that sequence don't let that in that's what gives you the immunity the peptides are custom synthesized i had no idea there are companies which will do this any short peptide sequence you want there are dozens of them online you can use the cheapest ones you don't need to purify them they don't need any special modifications you don't need much the minimum order size from the company we used would have been sufficient for 250 doses we bought twice as much because it only cost 50 extra to get double the peptides and extras are nice in the case of mistakes but he doesn't need to give this stuff to anybody else he's not it's just him and his wife um you need a stir plate beakers micro centrifuge tubes 10 and 50 milliliter vials of pipette in the 0.1 to 1 milliliter range and pipette tips all available on amazon here's the other materials they're sold as supplements ketosan and sodium tripoli phosphate they're also maybe a little vinegar and deionized ionized water you can get everything on amazon uh simple to do you just this is hysterical you prepare the solutions of each component dissolve it separately stick in the freezer until it's needed circularized two of the peptides which means really just adding a few grains of activated charcoal to the tube and shaking it for three hours so maybe you need a little shaking machine then back in the freezer when it's time for a batch take everything out of the freezer mix it together pipe it into it to be a tic toc recipe this is hysterical finally and this is the thing it goes up your nose it's not an injection that makes it both less dangerous but also a little harder to prove that it's working because all of the current tests are blood tests and for the antibodies because you he's going to he and his wife are going to get any body test to see if it did anything and and he's you know he says and on the one hand putting in your nose is probably a good idea because that's where you want the immunity because that's how the virus gets in on the other hand unfortunately all the uh all the antibody tests or blood tests so they it may not be that you get an immune response or a strong immune response in the blood if you put it up your nose anyway it's a great article he's going to stay tuned he's he's going to let us know how the tests work uh wow good on you for trying um he says you can't hurt yourself he because it's because the way it is it's just not you know worst case it doesn't work uh well let's hope he says it's a fun project in its own right and it gets dramatically cheaper with more people remember a thousand dollars bought enough supplies for 500 doses the largest benefits you've been wasting your time trying to i'm sorry i'm gonna do yeah i might do this i mean if you do it just also make sure you get the vaccine later what if i vaccinate or you see it's not a vaccine and what if i did this for the whole company john would you all did would you all do it that would be no i think this would be a great story podcast company vaccinates its entire staff using homemade vaccine i'm in that's that's just what's so cool about mrna vaccines as opposed see if this were you know a traditional vaccine this i wouldn't do it because you're you know it's a little more dangerous but an mrna vaccine is harmless now he doesn't unfortunately doesn't publish the recipe what peptides to get i might have to send him a note so dr mom's advice i i said before the show that i uh i think i got a delayed reaction to the shot like two weeks later yeah did she say that that's possible oh wow she said go get a test no she said you can still get it after the first shot get a test yeah you gotta get two yes you gotta get two yeah i love this guy uh hugh ma huge ma i can't be how he pronounces his name huge ma he works at airbnb as a software engineer it was so he was trying to sign up his mom for a vaccine in new york city was so complicated he decided to develop a site he did in two weeks cost him fifty dollars called turbo vaxx that went out and went to all the different sites because apparently there are many many different sites to try to find an appointment in the city and state official systems do it yourself it's what uh it's what all the kids are doing now you got the tech skills make your own vaccine make your own website\n"