How many vaccines do we know of that, according to adverse reports on file at the CDC, have resulted in 18,461 deaths and a scary variety of other bad outcome? Well there's the COVID Vaccine that has received 875,651 reports as of November 5, 2021.

Not surprisingly, the deep blue state of California leads the nation with 343 deaths, as well as a troubling list of vaccine side effects—for example, 111 miscarriages, 310 cases of myocarditis, and 628 hospitalizations—as reported in 57,722 adverse reports.

So, despite those statistics, researchers at the University of California Riverside are forging ahead to find ways of infusing the COVID vaccine into edible plants like spinach and lettuce. The university is using a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, a federal government agency that has an $8.5 billion annual budget.

The University of California press release talks about the science and the project goals. The release says that the "future of vaccines may look more like eating a salad than getting a shot in the arm." UC Riverside scientists want to find out if "they can turn edible plants into mRNA vaccine factories."