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WOW2: November's Trailblazing Women and Events in Our History - 11-9 through 11-16 [1]
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Date: 2022-11-12
November 14 , 2020 – Scientists Ozlem Tureci and her husband Ugur Sahin started the Light Speed project in January, 2020, after he read an article in The Lancet about a strange new disease that appeared to spreading rapidly in Wuhan, China. He researched the air links between Wuhan and other cities, and realized the potential for a global pandemic. They approached Pfizer, the US pharmaceutical company, and got help with funding. They built on their previous research. “The first decision was to use our mRNA technology for the pandemic setting. It is very versatile,” says Dr. Tureci. Soon 600 of their employees were focused on finding a vaccine. “We realized it might become a big threat. We talked about different scenarios and what has emerged is one of the more serious and frightening scenarios,” she said. The team worked in shifts night and day, ensuring that all its experiments could continue round the clock. “Many of us have not had vacations and have worked through the weekends, that is why we have been able to do it. We are available for different time zones too; we are in constant meetings with Pfizer in America and with our Chinese partner.” The couple never contemplated defeat. “We have been in the innovation field for many years, we are habitualized not to think about the scenario that it might not work but rather to ensure that we address all potential flaws,” Dr. Tureci explains. “This very sober and scientific way of doing it allows us to stay away from the pessimistic mind-wandering mode.” As soon as the trial results began to come in, they knew they were on to something. “I had not expected it to be 90 percent effective but after seeing the immunology data I thought we will have some sort of effect except if the virus is very different from what we have encountered.” The vaccine has been tested on the elderly, the young, and the vulnerable, she says, but added, “They also have robust immune responses. We can’t for moral reasons expose people who are severely ill, but we have people who have cardiological disease, lung disfunction, cancer, diabetes, obesity.”
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