Moreover, I think there are structural reasons for relatively more of that funding to come from, e.g., Gates than from at least early-stage EA. Although COVID is an exception, vaccine work has traditionally taken many years. I think it is more likely that we’d see the right people approaching this work in an optimal manner if they were offered stable, multi-year funding. And I’m not sure whether at least early “EA” was in a position to offer that kind of funding on a basis that would seem reliable.
So it’s plausible to me that vaccine and similar funding was the highest EV option on the table in theory, and that it nevertheless made sense for EA to focus on bednet distribution and other efforts better suited to the funding flows it could guarantee.
Moreover, I think there are structural reasons for relatively more of that funding to come from, e.g., Gates than from at least early-stage EA. Although COVID is an exception, vaccine work has traditionally taken many years. I think it is more likely that we’d see the right people approaching this work in an optimal manner if they were offered stable, multi-year funding. And I’m not sure whether at least early “EA” was in a position to offer that kind of funding on a basis that would seem reliable.
So it’s plausible to me that vaccine and similar funding was the highest EV option on the table in theory, and that it nevertheless made sense for EA to focus on bednet distribution and other efforts better suited to the funding flows it could guarantee.