The standards work is detailed, tedious and time-consuming think years, not months and necessary for a global industry whose business is almost entirely electronic.
On top of that, running field trials is a costly, time-consuming business, made trickier by the technical, political and ethical difficulties of doing such work in poor countries countries that may be unable to afford the fruits of the research, if those should be a successful vaccine.
This ends the time-consuming negotiations between two departments previously required in pursuit of the Blairite mission to link welfare benefits to requirements to seek work.
Work on these committees is time-consuming and can be challenging unless you're the type who enjoys word puzzles, but it is very motivating to know that one is enabling a vital resource.