Beware the hype about quickly developing a vaccine against Covid-19. Some things cannot be rushed.
Imagine a race to find the best recipe for chocolate cake. Preparing and organizing all your ingredients beforehand —mise en place—is a good way to save time. So, too, is preheating the oven. Problems arise, though, if you skip steps required to properly prepare the batter or if you take the cake out of the oven too early.
In the pursuit of developing a safe and effective vaccine against Covid-19, rushing the process can slow progress and cause great harm. We can—and should—speed the research through…
Advancing collaboration among researchers.
Relaxing unnecessarily restrictive regulations.
Ensuring full funding.
Promoting adequate enrollment in trials.
Taking short-cuts with the execution of clinical trials or the data analysis, though, is a recipe for disaster. Dr. Peter Bach, a physician and epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explains why in this New Yorker interview: The Danger of Rushing Through Clinical Trials During the Coronavirus Pandemic.
History is replete with stories of promising treatments based on sound science that looked good in early-phase trials only to be scrapped when further study or more widespread use revealed them to be no better or worse than standard therapies in safety or efficacy.
I want effective treatments as much as you do. I miss life outside my house, especially hugging my grandchildren. In keeping with the wise words of Dr. Bach: “At the core of all scientific research lies an inflexible paradox. Urgency demands patience.”
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