3 minute read
I am a scientist and, let me tell you, it is hard work saving the world. A couple weeks ago, the clinic where I work dosed the first person in the world with a new coronavirus vaccine one-year trial. Our whole team put in a major effort treating 59 more trial participants that first week, 44 of which my assistant and I spent hours apiece isolating their white blood cells for immunology assays. Each test subject was at our clinic for about three to four hours for prep, labs, dosing, and observation. Our facility has the capacity to work with up to four at a time. There are several cohorts, so we will be dosing the next group next week. It is a double-blind study with a real vaccine and placebo. This achievement was the culmination of the scientific method—requiring months of preparation across the world with significant financial investment, thousands of hours of specialized labor, and vast amounts of mental energy expended by scientific and medical experts across several disciplines. It was a monumental achievement to get this far.
Clinical trials for new pharmaceutical products are intensely regulated. Nations have laws in place to protect those who participate, and the world’s governments have worked together to form ethical standards to ensure that volunteers are fully informed of the expectations on them and give their willing consent before any procedure starts. In this time of pandemic, the urgency of finding an effective prevention could lead to cutting corners but, based upon my eyewitness experience, none are. The usual duration of the trials are being reduced not by easing standards but by performing several tests concurrently. The same work is done quickly with the effort multiplied. Safety comes first at all times. We still have a long way to go, but one milestone after another is passing by.
Sadly, this work is being conducted against the cultural backdrop of a political war that is dividing society. As we continue refining and updating our factual understanding of COVID-19 and its treatments, millions of Americans who remember little if anything from their high school science classes are now complaining about perceived inconsistencies in the data coming from the scientific community. It is much easier to do their so-called “research,” i.e. watching conspiracy theory videos from social media, that serve as confirmation bias of preexisting cultural and political beliefs than it is to read detailed scientific reports about methods and results as well as navigate the complex international dynamics of the scientific method at work.
What can you do to help?
One of the most important results of the coronavirus research was the determination that it is primarily an airborne threat. Those who are positive for the virus shed the seeds of infection as they exhale, and much more as they talk or sing. While there is no way to 100% eliminate this risk, the simple act of wearing a mask does an adequate job of preventing the broadcast of coronavirus to others. This may seem counterintuitive to many as it may not protect the wearers themselves from illness, but it does help protect others. While this has been the subject of intense political debate, and that debate that has been intensified by non-expert commentary on cable news, the science is solid. A simple selfless gesture makes a huge difference, but only if we all come together and consistently participate.
As a scientist on the front lines of a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, I make a request: give us the time we need to finish getting a vaccine ready. We are working as fast as we can, but work slows if any of us gets sick. Out of care for yourself, your loved ones, your community, your country, and your world… please 1) maintain social distancing whenever possible and 2) mask up whenever you are in public. These need not be political statements, but simple acts of human love and compassion. These two small acts may be uncomfortable and inconvenient, but they literally save lives!
