When President Donald Trump paid a visit to the National Institutes of Health In March last year, the leaders of the vaccine research center explained their life-saving mission. The key to this mission was a 34-year-old doctor named Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett.
“That’s where I told the task force about the work I did,” Corbett told co-host Michelle Miller, co-host of CBS This Morning: Saturday.
Two weeks after the visit, Corbett’s team began the first stage of clinical trials. She said that they took a lot of knowledge that they have accumulated in the last six years and applied it on a vaccine platform in collaboration with Moderna. The vaccine was launched 10 months later.
“The vaccine teaches the body how to protect itself from a virus, because it teaches the body how to look for the virus, practically showing the body the spike protein of the virus,” she explained. “The body then says, ‘Oh, I’ve seen this protein before.’ Let’s go fight her. ” That’s how it works. “
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, accredited Corbett during a webinar for her work.
“The vaccine you are going to get was developed by an African-American woman and this is just a fact,” Fauci said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 6.5 million Americans have received their first dose of Vaccine covid-19. This number is expected to increase daily, although it is far behind what public health experts hoped to see.
Corbett’s interest in science began at an early age, but he never knew the difference it would make.
“To be honest, I didn’t realize the level of impact my visibility could have … I’m doing my job because I like work,” Corbett said.
An opportunity in her life made an essential difference. She attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore, as a Meyerhoff Scholar, an aggressive program that guides minorities and women in science. Graduates of the program include Surgeon General Jerome Adams.
Dr. Freeman Hrabowski has been president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, for nearly 30 years. He said Corbett has strong scientific experience, but the way he was able to talk to people set her apart from the rest.
“He would definitely succeed in life,” Hrabowski said. “We need more scientists who can connect with people. She could easily do that at 17 – What we do at UMBC is support black students, but also students in general, to make sure they do it in science. “
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, only 18% of all students graduate with a STEM degree, of which 2% are black – which Hrabowski believes needs to change.
“It’s important for people to see people who look like them, like themselves, who can be involved. If it’s women or if it’s black because it shows that you have people who understand what you’ve been through.”
Dr. Barney Graham and Corbett have worked together for over 15 years. Graham is not just her mentor. He is also Corbett’s chief deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center.
“When you recognize that someone has special qualities, you have to do things that hinder other things and avoid some of the rejection that often happens not only to minorities, but also to women,” Graham said.
From a historical point of view, this prejudice affects not only the professionals in the field, but also those they serve. In 1931, scientists conducted the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a study by the Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute. He examined the progression of syphilis, leaving untreated black men untreated, regardless of the suffering it caused.
Another commonly cited example is the removal of special cells from Henretta Lacks, a cancer patient in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1951, a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University removed Lacks’ cells without her permission and used them in billions of dollars worth of medical research. She died of cancer and her family was never compensated.
“There are many other examples of supposedly objective scientists, who care about everyone, who appreciate people of color less … It’s a painful truth,” Hrabowski said.
Corbett’s understanding of socio-cultural issues and his knowledge of science made him an influential figure in the scientific community.
At a time when vaccine skepticism is high among African Americans, Corbett hopes black people will put faith in the vaccine and faith in scientists working behind the scenes to bring it to Americans.
“The number one is that I get it. And then the number two is to really take advantage of the level of transparency that we’re trying to … even I haven’t even seen it before, like FDA hearings and the briefings are broadcast online and the data appears almost instantly, “she said.
As for Dr. Hrabowski, he believes Corbett deserves all the visibility he can get.
“It can’t be a hidden figure,” he said. “It has to be in textbooks. Girls have to see it – of all races. That’s possible.”