This is definitely an area where it makes sense that AI could outperform humans.
'The new methodology is “remarkable”, says Dave Mauger, a computational RNA biologist who previously worked at Moderna in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a maker of mRNA vaccines. “The computational efficiency is really impressive and more sophisticated than anything that has come before.”
@cyrilpedia Moderna had a contract with DARPA for rapid vaccine development. If I recall correctly, it essentially accepted the fact that the first soldiers exposed might not survive. It was allegedly for the second line of soldiers. A seemingly cold thought but very practical. It was for responses to new infectious diseases.
It seems to have worked somewhat but I don't think it was fully operational in time for COVID-19.