1Day Sooner
1Day Sooner
A pandemic preparedness nonprofit originally founded to advocate for COVID-19 human challenge trials, now working on indoor air quality (germicidal UV), advance market commitments for vaccines, hepatitis C challenge studies, and biosecurity policy. Cumulative funding of ~\$12.8M from sources including Coefficient Giving, Founders Pledge, and Schmidt Futures.
Quick Assessment
| Dimension | Assessment | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Focus Area | Pandemic preparedness + biosecurity policy | Human challenge trials, indoor air quality (far-UVC), advance market commitments, policy advocacy1 |
| Funding | Well-funded from diverse sources | ≈$12.8M cumulative (March 2020 - July 2025); major donors include Coefficient Giving, Founders Pledge, Schmidt Futures2 |
| Policy Influence | Growing | SB 1308 California advocacy; Operation Warp Speed 2.0 conferences; FY2025 appropriations advocacy34 |
| Team | Small, mission-driven | Led by co-founders Josh Morrison (President) and Sophie Rose; ≈10-15 staff across multiple program areas5 |
| Key Output | Air safety research with Rethink Priorities | Found that indoor air quality interventions could reduce measles-like pathogen transmission by 68%6 |
| Key Concern | Mission drift from original focus | Expanded from challenge trial advocacy to broad pandemic preparedness portfolio1 |
Overview
1Day Sooner is a 501(c)(3) public health nonprofit founded in March 2020 to advocate for human challenge trials as a means to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development. The organization has since expanded into a broader pandemic preparedness and biosecurity policy organization, working across four main areas: human challenge studies, indoor air quality interventions, vaccine development policy (including advance market commitments), and pandemic preparedness advocacy.1
The name "1Day Sooner" reflects the organization's founding thesis: that even getting a vaccine one day sooner could save thousands of lives. By June 2020, volunteers from 162 countries had signed up through the organization to participate in potential COVID-19 challenge trials.7
The organization operates alongside a separately registered 501(c)(4) entity, 1Day Action, which handles political advocacy work. Coefficient Giving provided $1 million to 1Day Action.2
History
Founding and COVID-19 Challenge Trial Advocacy (March-December 2020)
1Day Sooner was co-founded by Josh Morrison and Sophie Rose in March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Morrison, a Harvard Law graduate who had previously founded kidney donation advocacy group Waitlist Zero and the Rikers Debate Project, was thinking of starting an advocacy group for human challenge trials when he came across an unpublished literature review about COVID-19 human challenge studies that Rose, a Stanford biology graduate, had co-authored. He invited her to join the effort.78
The organization quickly attracted public attention and volunteer signups. Coefficient Giving provided initial funding of $500,000 in May 2020 (via Waitlist Zero) and $600,000 in November 2020 for general support.910
1Day Sooner's advocacy for COVID-19 challenge trials was met with both support and opposition among scientists and bioethicists. Proponents argued that challenge trials could dramatically accelerate vaccine development, while critics raised concerns about deliberately infecting volunteers with a novel pathogen.7
UK Challenge Trial Success (2021-2022)
The UK became the first country to authorize a COVID-19 human challenge trial in 2021, partly influenced by 1Day Sooner's advocacy and volunteer organizing. Results from the UK trial were published in February 2022, providing novel insights into COVID-19 infection dynamics.11
Expansion to Pandemic Preparedness (2022-Present)
Following the initial challenge trial advocacy, 1Day Sooner broadened its mission to encompass pandemic preparedness more generally. Key expansions included:
- Indoor Air Quality program led by Gavriel Kleinwaks, focusing on germicidal UV technology
- Operation Warp Speed 2.0 conferences and white papers on institutionalizing pandemic response capabilities
- Advance Market Commitments research and advocacy for pandemic countermeasure development
- Hepatitis C challenge studies advocacy and volunteer recruitment
- 1Day Africa program directed by Zach Kafuko
- Biosecurity considerations for challenge trials research published in academic venues112
FTX Funding and Return (2022-2023)
1Day Sooner received approximately $400,000 from the FTX Foundation before its 2022 bankruptcy. The organization returned these funds to bankruptcy proceedings by December 2023.2
Core Programs
Human Challenge Studies (CHIMs)
1Day Sooner's original and continuing focus is advocating for controlled human infection models (CHIMs) as a tool to accelerate vaccine and therapeutic development. The organization:1
- Recruits and organizes volunteer cohorts for challenge trials
- Partners with academic institutions on challenge trial ethics and methodology
- Sponsored a report with the UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator on "The Ethics of Controlled Human Infection Model Studies for Mitigating Pandemic Risks"
- Published biosecurity analysis of challenge trial risks in BMJ Open (February 2025), examining onward transmission, information hazards, and challenge agent manufacturing risks13
Hepatitis C Challenge Studies: A major current priority, with the potential to unlock more than $10 million in NIH funding for hepatitis C vaccine development. Hundreds of people worldwide have signed up expressing interest in participating. A workshop is planned for 2026.14
Indoor Air Quality and Germicidal UV
In collaboration with Rethink Priorities, 1Day Sooner produced the influential "Air Safety to Combat Global Catastrophic Biorisks" report, which found that mass deployment of indoor air quality interventions (ventilation, filtration, and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) could reduce transmission of a measles-like pathogen by 68%. This represents approximately one-third of the total effort needed to reduce pathogen transmission by 98%.6
The report identified germicidal UV (GUV) technology, particularly far-UVC, as the most promising intervention because it can achieve considerably higher equivalent air changes per hour by directly inactivating pathogens. Key bottlenecks include lack of clear standards, implementation costs, and regulatory barriers. Blueprint Biosecurity works on the same technology from a research and deployment angle.6
California SB 1308 Advocacy
In 2024, California SB 1308 proposed banning ozone-emitting air cleaning devices, which as written would have unintentionally encompassed far-UVC technology. 1Day Sooner was the only nonprofit to produce a public statement opposing the bill's impact on GUV research. The organization:3
- Submitted public comments to the Senate committee
- Traveled to Sacramento to meet with Senate staffers
- Presented public comments at the committee hearing
- Collaborated with the Far UVC Coalition on amendments
The campaign highlighted the distinction between existing ozone-emitting electrostatic air cleaners and the emerging generation of germicidal UV technology.3
Operation Warp Speed 2.0
1Day Sooner has hosted multiple "Operation Warp Speed 2.0" conferences, convening more than 80 health, biosecurity, and research leaders to discuss how to institutionalize the successes of the original Operation Warp Speed for future pandemic response.4
The organization published a white paper with policy recommendations focused on:15
- Regulatory authorization reform: Streamlining approval processes for pandemic countermeasures
- Advance market commitments (AMCs): Government guarantees to purchase vaccines/treatments at set prices upon approval, incentivizing private-sector development before pandemics strike
- Institutional capacity: Building permanent government infrastructure for rapid medical countermeasure development
The AMC concept is central to 1Day Sooner's pandemic preparedness strategy. An AMC circumvents the market failure problem by guaranteeing a profitable market before a vaccine's development, ensuring that developers' efforts will pay off while keeping prices reasonable.15
Pandemic Insurance Fund
1Day Sooner campaigns for an internationally administered pandemic insurance fund, composed of donations from wealthier countries, to be deployed in the event of a future pandemic for low- and middle-income countries.1
Team and Leadership
Leadership
Board of Directors
| Member | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Stanley Plotkin | Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania and Wistar Institute |
| Dan Wikler | Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Population Ethics, Harvard University |
| Madeleine Thompson | Board member |
Josh Morrison's Role at the Federation of American Scientists
Josh Morrison also holds a position at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), where 1Day Sooner has co-published pandemic preparedness policy proposals including "How to Replicate the Success of Operation Warp Speed."16
Funding
Cumulative Funding (March 2020 - July 2025): ≈$12.8 million
| Donor | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coefficient Giving (Coefficient Giving) | $4,600,000 | Largest single funder; OP rebranded to Coefficient Giving in Nov 2025 |
| Founders Pledge | $1,578,034 | EA-aligned funder |
| Individual Donors | $1,220,717 | Aggregated individual contributions |
| Schmidt Futures | $1,025,000 | Technology philanthropy |
| Digital Harbor Foundation | $1,000,000 | |
| Rain Water Charitable Foundation | $750,000 | |
| Survival and Flourishing Fund | $590,000 | EA-aligned funder |
| Emergent Ventures | $300,000 | Tyler Cowen's grant program |
| David and Lucille Packard Foundation | $300,000 | |
| Smaller grants (<$50K each) | Various | CEA, BCBS Massachusetts, CareQuest, Point32Health, Harvard Pilgrim, UChicago Market Shaping Accelerator |
| Total | ≈$12,847,094 |
Coefficient Giving Funding
Coefficient Giving (now Coefficient Giving) has provided ≈$4.6M to 1Day Sooner's 501(c)(3) — roughly 36% of cumulative funding — plus $1M separately to 1Day Action (the 501(c)(4) entity). The $4.6M Coefficient Giving line in the table above represents the total from OP, which includes these identified grants:91017
- $500,000 for general support (May 2020, via Waitlist Zero)
- $600,000 for general support (November 2020)
- $3,000,000 for general support (2023)
Financial Transparency
1Day Sooner publishes detailed financial information including cumulative funding by donor, IRS Form 990 filings (available for 2020-2023), and explicit disclosure that the organization has no pharmaceutical company funding and no financial stake in studies promoted or therapies involved.2
Relationship to AI Safety and the EA Community
1Day Sooner has strong connections to the effective altruism community:
- Coefficient Giving/Coefficient Giving is the largest funding source
- Rethink Priorities collaboration on the air safety report
- Survival and Flourishing Fund and Emergent Ventures grants
- EA Forum presence with regular updates and funding requests
- Josh Morrison has posted on the EA Forum about hepatitis C challenge trial funding opportunities
- Gavriel Kleinwaks has published on the EA Forum about indoor air quality program direction
The organization's work on pandemic preparedness connects to AI safety concerns through the bioweapons misuse pathway: improved pandemic infrastructure (surveillance, countermeasures, indoor air quality) provides defense-in-depth against both naturally emerging and engineered pathogens, including those potentially enabled by AI.6
Criticisms and Limitations
Mission Scope Expansion
1Day Sooner has expanded significantly from its original narrow focus on challenge trial advocacy to a broad pandemic preparedness portfolio. While this diversification addresses important problems, it raises questions about organizational comparative advantage and focus.
Challenge Trial Impact Debate
The counterfactual impact of 1Day Sooner's COVID-19 challenge trial advocacy is debated. The UK challenge trial proceeded, but conventional vaccine development through Operation Warp Speed delivered vaccines before challenge trials could have meaningfully accelerated the process. The organization's value proposition has shifted accordingly toward future pandemic preparedness.7
Small Scale Relative to Problem
With ≈$12.8M in cumulative funding and a small team, 1Day Sooner operates at a scale far below what would be needed to meaningfully address pandemic preparedness infrastructure gaps, particularly for interventions like mass deployment of germicidal UV technology.
Key Uncertainties
Key Questions
- ?Can far-UVC technology achieve regulatory approval and mass deployment before the next pandemic?
- ?Will advance market commitments for pandemic countermeasures gain sufficient political support for implementation?
- ?Is 1Day Sooner's broad pandemic preparedness portfolio more impactful than a narrower focus on challenge trial advocacy?
- ?Can the hepatitis C challenge studies program unlock significant NIH funding for vaccine development?
- ?How does 1Day Sooner's impact compare to other biosecurity organizations like SecureBio or NTI | bio?
Sources
Footnotes
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1Day Sooner - What We Do — 1Day Sooner - What We Do - Program overview ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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1Day Sooner - Finances & Transparency — 1Day Sooner - Finances & Transparency - Detailed funding disclosure ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Retrospective on California SB 1308 Campaign - EA Forum — Retrospective on California SB 1308 Campaign - EA Forum - SB 1308 advocacy ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Operation Warp Speed 2.0 Conference — Operation Warp Speed 2.0 Conference - Conference overview ↩ ↩2
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1Day Sooner Team — 1Day Sooner Team - Staff listing ↩
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Air Safety to Combat Global Catastrophic Biorisks - Rethink Priorities — Air Safety to Combat Global Catastrophic Biorisks - Rethink Priorities - Air safety research ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Coefficient Giving - 1Day Sooner General Support May 2020 — Coefficient Giving - 1Day Sooner General Support May 2020 - Initial grant ↩ ↩2
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Coefficient Giving - 1Day Sooner General Support November 2020 — Coefficient Giving - 1Day Sooner General Support November 2020 - Second grant ↩ ↩2
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References
“R esults from the world’s first Covid-19 challenge trial are (finally) in: In the study, which was conducted by Imperial College London and hVIVO at the Royal Free Hospital in London, each of the 36 participants had drops of fluid containing a tiny amount of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, placed in their nostrils.”
The source does not explicitly state the month of publication for the UK trial results. It only mentions that the data was not released until 'last week' from the time of writing, and that a paper with early results was submitted to a leading medical journal this past summer, but it was rejected.
“SB 1308 was introduced in the California Senate by Senator Lena Gonzalez, the Senate (Floor) Majority Leader, and was sponsored by Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP).”
“This memo was developed from notes on presentations, panel discussions, and breakout conversations at the Operation Warp Speed 2.0 Conference, hosted on November 17, 2022, by the Federation of American Scientists, 1Day Sooner , and the Institute for Progress to recount the success of OWS and consider future applications of the mechanisms.”
The source does not mention Josh Morrison or his position at FAS. The source mentions that the Federation of American Scientists and 1Day Sooner co-hosted a conference, not that they co-published policy proposals.
“Biosecurity considerations of controlled human infection model studies Madeleine Eaton, Enlli Lewis, Ryan Duncombe, Lin Bowker-Lonnecker, Vinoy Vijayan, Bright Adorbley, Sriram Kumar, Bilal Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Zohaib, and Euzebiusz Jamrozik (February 28, 2025), Preprint, “Biosecurity considerations of controlled human infection model studies” Controlled human infection model (CHIM) studies involve the deliberate exposure of healthy volunteers to pathogens under controlled conditions and can offer valuable insights for vaccine development and infectious disease research. While these studies have a strong safety record and are increasingly deployed worldwide, their associated biosecurity risks remain underexplored. This paper examines three key CHIM study biosecurity risk areas: onward transmission of pathogens, information hazards, and challenge agent manufacturing risks.”
16EA Forum - What 1Day Sooner Would Do with Your Marginal Dollar: Hepatitis Cforum.effectivealtruism.org·Blog post▸
“After our discussions with the NIH team who had planned that workshop, we think hosting it in 2026 would accomplish its original purpose, but NIH staff are not in a position to host the workshop themselves (even though they would be able to attend and make grants based on the discussion there).”
“We estimate that the mass deployment of indoor air quality interventions, like ventilation, filtration, and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), would reduce transmission of a measles-like pathogen by 68%.”