Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett key scientist behind COVID-19 vaccine – As the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19 gets close to crossing the finish line, one of the key experts behind its development is Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American scientist. She earned a PhD in microbiology and immunology and co-led the team behind the Moderna vaccine.
She was part of the team of scientists who spoke with President Trump on March 3, before the effects of COVID-19 really began to be felt in the U.S. She said of that meeting: “I felt like it was necessary to be seen and to not be a hidden figure so to speak. I felt that it was important to do that because the level of visibility that it would have to younger scientists and also to people of color who have often worked behind the scenes and essentially [who have] done the dirty work for these large efforts toward a vaccine…This person who looks like you has been working on this for several years and I also wanted it to be visible because I wanted people to understand that I stood by the work that I’d done for so long as well.”
She was recently asked in an interview what she would say to skeptics of the vaccine, especially within the Black community. She answered: “You’ve earned the right to ask the questions that you have around these vaccines and this vaccine development process…this overarching mistrust of the medical institution in general is… is not news to me, because I’m Black and I have a Black family and I am well-read on the history of injustice when it comes to medicine in the Black community…Trust, especially when it has been stripped from people, has to be rebuilt in a brick-by-brick fashion.”
Well done, Dr. Corbett. Well done.
Sen. Mike Lee to get vaccine – Senator Lee praised the vaccine earlier in the week, saying he looked forward to receiving it after the most vulnerable and those heroic front line workers had gotten it.
Exciting moment at the University of Utah hospital today! Another big step on the road to recovery! I look forward to getting it after those most vulnerable and the heroic front line workers have the opportunity. https://t.co/yjJIyGEvo6
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 15, 2020
Heart-warming Christmas ad – Dutch mail-order pharmacy Doc Morris has a Christmas ad about a grandfather’s motivation to get in shape for Christmas. (Watch to the end.) Merry Christmas!
