It is great that mRNA research is paying off at right time. Both Pfizer and Moderna took bets on mRNA!
It would have slowed the initial spread, but as we have seen, it only takes a single "superspreader" event to infect an entire country. Out of the various actions taken to fight the pandemic, closing borders was among the least effective. Basically, it only worked on islands and in combination with strong local actions (testing, tracing, quarantine, lockdowns, ...).
20 years ago wasn't the middle ages, air travel was a thing (9/11 was almost 20 years ago). In fact, it wasn't that different than it is today.
The New York Times made a great documentary on disinformation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_6dibpDfo
Well worth a watch IMO
Perhaps we today would be 20 years ahead in terms of medicine and tech given the real pressure for innovation that would have been needed ('war is the mother of invention' - or something), but for a higher cost in casualties back then.
So many variables! - It's an interesting thought experiment.
100 years ago people regularly ordered things for delivery. Sure it wasn't online, but all online gives you is some time.
E.g. "milkman" is a word in English. Today, most people haul their own milk home from the supermarket.
Certainly, as you go back in time, there was a lot of local delivery especially in urban areas. Mail order, Sears catalog notwithstanding, less so. Just to pick one random example, ordering music, movies, or books pre-Amazon was really pretty limited.
>but all online gives you is some time
And a lot more types of goods available. Again, 25 years ago, it would not have been practical for people to have wholesale pivoted a huge amount of shopping online. (And companies like B&H Photo couldn't have scaled.)
20 years is probably just about the cusp of it barely being possible.
A tragedy that was remembered for generations, but not the end of the world.
The coronavirus pandemic is a terrible natural disaster. We are right to take extreme measures to control it until proper mitigating measures become available, and we are very lucky that it did not happen ten years ago. Our societal surplus thankfully allows us to do the right thing and protect our weak and unlucky, as well as be more precautionary regarding long-term effects than others would have.
Reiterating my point -- if we were unable to use modern science and technology to combat the pandemic, the death toll and long-term health effects would be comparable to a minor global war. This would be a catastrophe that would be remembered for generations. It still will, but thankfully writ small.
Compared to other historical catastrophes -- the Black Death, the World Wars, five centuries of European warfare, Mao's Great Leap Forward, it would be a mild event, mostly because the death toll would hit the elderly and the weakened hardest. It would be bad, but it would not mean sacrificing a whole generation of our most ambitious young and capable people. It would certainly not be a catastrophe that threatened societies, although political follow-on effects would have lasting impact.
It's also worth noting that many authorities around the world have bungled the response terribly, both being ineffective in their measures and causing more economic damage than necessary. But that's dangerous territory to discuss, since you risk being branded and shut down with the terms I mentioned above.
(For reference, I made a fool of myself in my social circle in early March by suggesting 'extreme' quarantine measures before any Western governments did. I've been supportive of most science-based measures to slow and contain the pandemic, while at the same time being critical of many authorities' slow adaption of the best available science -- including lack of early mask recommendations and reluctance to consider aerosol contagion).
The pain and suffering it caused is hard to imagine and should not be downplayed.
Covid, as bad as it is, is almost three orders of magnitude off in deadliness (thus far, per capita).
The history of mRNA based pharmaceuticals is a fascinating one, Statnews have a great article on the topic: https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/10/the-story-of-mrna-how-a-...
In a few years both companies will re-evaluate their relationship. Partnerships can last for years at times. Other times one company is bought. Other times they go their own ways. All are normal and mean nothing, though if you are an investor each has different implications.