One of the virologists who helped design Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine imagined the company’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to send a message of hope when the first doses were administered Monday.
Kizzmekia Corbett, Ph.D., a 34-year-old virology researcher, celebrated the achievement on Instagram, writing, “Today, people will be vaccinated with a vaccine that I woke up on Jan. 11 to frantically help design.”
“I remember the day, in February, when mRNA-1273 arrived at our lab at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center, and mice were waiting in the basement for their injections,” she recalls. “At the time, we just had our sights set on a 100-day Phase 1 clinical trial with no idea that the virus would spread into a pandemic. 66 days passed after the release of the viral sequence and the first human was injected with the vaccine in a phase 1 study. “
Now, nine months and 76,000,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide later, people are being given the vaccine under an emergency use license. “Lives are about to be saved. Hospitals will be less overwhelmed. Normal times will slowly start again, ”she said.
The scientist then humorously added that she might rent out the stairs to have a party.
People heeded Corbett’s comments to show how inspired they were by her post. “Black girl magic … let’s go,” one person wrote. “Can’t wait to tell my daughter about you!” someone added. See, it’s a queen who saves our lives. Blessings to you, ”commented another user.
On Twitter, Meena Harris, author and niece of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, shared a photo of Corbett along with a quote from her post calling it “the best thing I’ve read all day.”
Other commentators expressed appreciation for the virologist who called her a “hero.”
I am more than a decade older than that @RTLnews and i want to be her when i grow up. She is an American hero.
– Jenn Hoppe (@JennMHoppe) December 22, 2020
So proud of you Mrs. Kizzy! Keep changing the world for the better !! 💜
– d (@ lelolai9) December 22, 2020
Is it too early to nominate her for a Nobel Peace Prize?
– Hattie DuRant (@hattiemdurant) December 22, 2020
Dr. Corbett deserves recognition for her outstanding work at the highest level in America.
We owe her many thanks. 👏👏👏– martyrabkin (@martyrabkin) December 22, 2020
While some were skeptical of the vaccine, Corbett, like many of her peers, are doubly working to quell fears, especially in the black community. A June Pew Research Center survey found that 54 percent of black adults trust the vaccine, while 44 percent still express suspicion. After the Pfizer vaccine was rolled out last week, the first person to receive it was a black woman, a nurse, and her first dose was given by a black woman.
“There were so many layers in those images,” Dr. Uché Blackstock, CEO of Advancing Health Equity and a medical officer of Yahoo Life, to Yahoo Life. “I hope it helps to instill some confidence in the process that you have a black nurse here taking the vaccine and almost setting herself as an example to others.”
With black and brown people disproportionately affected by COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has continued to push the message that the vaccines are safe and effective.
“The first thing you might want to say to my African American siblings is that the vaccine you are going to take was developed by an African American woman and that’s just a fact,” Fauci said, referring to Corbett in a statement. conference with several black leaders earlier this month. “I think that’s one of the things that people don’t fully appreciate.”
Fauci received his injection in Maryland on Tuesday morning.
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, then follow up https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised remain at greatest risk. If you have any questions, consult it CDC‘s and WHO resource guides.
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