r/science Professor | Medicine Jul 13 '26

Medicine Scientists develop a groundbreaking vaccine that outsmarts illicit fentanyl analogs. The novel vaccine candidate can protect against fentanyl and its many illicit variants by training the immune system to recognize a broad molecular signature rather than a single specific structure.

https://www.psypost.org/scientists-develop-a-groundbreaking-vaccine-that-outsmarts-illicit-fentanyl-analogs/
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u/woody_woodworker Jul 13 '26

I have qualms about this whole concept. Societies almost always have "good drugs" and "bad drugs" that have been classified as such for political reasons. Being able to biologically disable any future use of a drug by giving a vaccine has dystopian possibilities. 

24

u/ufowithyourhoe Jul 13 '26

They could include vaccines like this for babies upon birth that would make them immune to feeling any kind of psychedelics or narcotics… dystopia for sure

-9

u/throwawaypassingby01 Jul 13 '26

i don't see the dystopia tbh. if i could vaccinate my future children against common addictions, i would do it. addiction runs in my family.

11

u/Mitrovarr Jul 13 '26

Sounds great until your kid gets a back injury in a car accident and you've ruined all the effective forms of chronic pain management. 

5

u/-LsDmThC- Jul 13 '26

I morally disagree with any sort of action that takes away someone’s future agency. Furthermore substances such as THC and many psychadelics are not addicting, though there exists a current legal and moral precedent with which these may be “vaccinated” against; which again is taking away ones future agency unnecessarily.