Dr. Christopher Buck specializes in polyomaviruses, a cause of brain infection, kidney disease or skin cancer among immunocompromised people. The virologist works with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. He is also an avid and talented home brewer. While researching conventional vaccines for polyomaviruses, Dr. Buck engineered a brewer’s yeast that produces a protein from the Polyomaviridae family. Introducing this protein to the immune system, theorized Dr. Buck, might inoculate patients against the virus. By combining his two passions, he may well have brewed the world’s first beer vaccine.
Promising results
This story first appeared in ScienceNews.org after Dr. Buck conducted his controlled experiment at home. The virologist began brewing his vaccine-infused beer in spring 2025, and at May’s end had enough brewed to initiate trials. Before and after consuming one pint daily over five days, he sampled his blood, testing for increased antibodies. Sure enough, Dr. Buck identified an increase in antibodies for two types of polyomaviruses. His regimen: 1 pint by mouth daily for 5 days, for three rounds total, with a 7-week interval between each.
3D print of polyomavirus. There are many types of polyomaviruses, which can infect people with compromised immune systems such as HIV/AIDS patients. Creative commons.
Dr. Buck experienced no ill effects from the trials and confidently introduced the vaccinated beer to his brother Andrew. Neither him nor any related volunteers had adverse reactions to the brew. While admittedly a small sample size among subjects with shared genetics, this discovery is the first of its kind. Vaccines are normally tested over multiple rounds amongst much larger sample groups against a placebo. Low reactivity is essential for a polyomavirus vaccine, as its intended use includes protecting patients immunocompromised by organ transplantation.
If successful, the vaccine could go beyond fighting polyomavirus. In an interview with the Times, Dr. Buck says, “This one vaccine is just proving the principle. Next on the agenda is Covid and flu and probably herpes viruses and adenovirus [which causes colds and flu] … Anything that is a common-cold virus is in our crosshairs now.”
Legal and moral opposition
This could be an instance of medical serendipity like Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin. But the rules have tightened somewhat since 1928. A research ethics committee at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) told Dr. Buck he couldn’t perform experiments on himself. Undeterred, he simply worked around the prohibition by conducting his tests at home, where the NIH has no jurisdiction. Dr. Buck even founded Gusteau Research Corporation, his own nonprofit firm, to further his experiments legitimately and privately.
Unfortunately, a second ethics committee objected to Dr. Buck’s unconventional self-testing. On February 4, 2026, he was placed on paid administrative leave pending investigation.
I went through too many Shutterstock images to find a picture of someone pouring beer correctly.
The NIH isn’t the only force working against Dr. Buck’s potentially revolutionary discovery. Critics of his methods could wind up handing a growing minority of vaccine deniers yet another reason to mistrust immunologists. Moreover, hubbub from beer purists or the notoriously vaccine-hostile Trump regime might discourage future experimentation, barring serendipity from intervening. Dr. Buck’s supporters, however, feel his vaccine’s particular means of delivery might actually appeal to adult consumers worldwide.
Imagine an alternative to needle sticks that eases vaccination anxiety by letting patients control administration. A study from 2011 found that fear of needles was a primary reason for vaccine hesitancy in 7% of parents and 8% of children. While kids would require a non-alcoholic version, this could be a less invasive, more palatable way for adults to get vaccinated. Somewhere in the future, it is happy hour for you and your immune system. Cheers!
