Edit: according to ChatGPT, it doesn’t:
> the analysis considers resources such as research funding, scientists' labor, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation. It does not assign an economic value to lives saved, illness prevented, or economic activity preserved by a vaccine
Why that particular combination? You could just as easily compare private spending and public benefits, and it would make about as much sense.
Maybe better to include both public and private costs and benefits?
Publishers are effectively stealing money from taxpayers. Research benefits the whole world but Elsevier's profits only benefit its shareholders. Every million sent to Wall Street funds could be used to start a project that might end up saving lives.
It shouldn't, because that doesn't make a lick of sense. Government-funded research came up with the vaccine. Why would the government owe a debt to private industry for selling it back to us?
If you paid for me to build a house that I rented back to you, should you be grateful for having a place to live?
Academic researchers don't get a vaccine approved and manufacture it at scale. They do experiments and publish papers.