Keep in mind the affects of the technological advances today can contribute to advancing studies because much of what things like artificial intelligence / neural networks etc can do is sped up by data crunching on faster platforms unlike those from 5 years ago. There has to be a consideration that is likely not measurable on what this can do to situations like finding a vaccine.
Look at the speed of making a stock trade or how you can pull up records online instantly. The world is all about data and it’s amazing how the advancements in data modeling techniques from companies like Microsoft have changed the speed and accuracy of what can be done.
Decisions can be made faster nowadays because of these advancements.