Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American woman, is praised as key scientist behind COVID-19 vaccine...

[mbusby]

Source: ABC NEWS

Laura Romero, Sony Salzman, and Kaitlyn Folmer

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and a constant presence on TV during the coronavirus pandemic, was asked a blunt question during a forum hosted last week by the National Urban League: "Can you talk about the input of African American scientists in the vaccine process?"

Fauci did not hesitate when giving his answer.

"The very vaccine that's one of the two that has absolutely exquisite levels -- 94 to 95% efficacy against clinical disease and almost 100% efficacy against serious disease that are shown to be clearly safe -- that vaccine was actually developed in my institute's vaccine research center by a team of scientists led by Dr. Barney Graham and his close colleague, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, or Kizzy Corbett," Fauci told the forum. "Kizzy is an African American scientist who is right at the forefront of the development of the vaccine."

Corbett is an expert on the front lines of the global race for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and someone who will go down in history as one of the key players in developing the science that could end the pandemic.

She is one of the National Institutes of Health's leading scientists behind the government's search for a vaccine. Corbett is part of a team at NIH that worked with Moderna, the pharmaceutical company that developed one of the two mRNA vaccines that has shown to be more than 90% effective.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/kizzmekia-corbett-african-american-woman-praised-key-scientist/story

[Tanuki]

1. She has a very interesting twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/KizzyPhD?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[Cicada]

2. She had been studying viruses which also have the Covid spike

In her summer college job the head of the division, Dr Barney Graham, asked her what her plans were. She said “I want your job.” She got her Ph D and came to work for Graham, developing vaccines. Previously she had studied viruses similar to Coronavirus which have that spike sticking up, and she had studied the mRNA theory for possible vaccines. I think they went after covid19 when only 31 people in the US had tested positive. I think it took them two days to find a target vaccine. It worked like a charm in their 30,000 human trial group. We owe Kizzie and her coworkers so much. When President Trump Mar 3 visited NIH to see the work on the vaccine Fauci took him to meet Graham and Kizzie in the lab where they were doing the science.

I am in a high risk group so I am extremely grateful to so many people, the grocery workers, the businesses which have sacrificed to limit the spread, to Kizzie and the army of scientists who have worked their asses off, for many years, to find a solution in record time.

[JI7]

3. You mean it's not Trump ?

[littlemissmartypants]

4. I watched an interview with her. I think it was done by the BBC.

She was absolutely remarkable. I would trust her with my life without hesitation.

[Hekate]

5. KnR!

[SunSeeker]

6. Since she developed the Moderna vaccine, that's the one I hope I get!

[DFW]

7. Hidden Figures, Volume II

Except this time, no one had to wait 50 years for credit for their contribution.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Joe Madison played the clip from Fauci this morning

mentioning this.

As a note - the link you have went away but here is a working link - https://abcnews.go.com/Health/kizzmekia-corbett-african-american-woman-praised-key-scientist/story?id=74679965

[Thekaspervote]

9. It would be most fitting to name it the Corbett vaccine

[Ramsey Barner]

10. Thank goodness for great public servants like Corbett and Fauci!

Great to wake up to that headline.

[Javaman]

11. it's people like this Doctor that give me hope and make me want to get a twitter account. :) nt