Are COVID vaccines a miracle?

“Narrative” is everything. “Narrative” means the context we put information in. It means the stories that we tell ourselves about the facts. In a less friendly way of saying it, narrative is “spin.” Narrative defines our worldview. It determines our emotional responses, makes us happy or angry at news. Narrative distinguishes all forms of media, and is the main reason we disagree about things–not the actual information, but the narrative we ascribe to that information.

Anyway, I’m big on narrative, and this new essay from the amazing journalist Helen Branswell at STAT News shows how our narratives on the COVID vaccines are a classic modern example of how negativity rules us. Our modern narratives almost always focus on what’s bad, rather than what is good.

“What has been accomplished in the 25 months since Chinese scientists first shared the genetic sequence of the newly discovered SARS-CoV-2 virus has defied the predictions of the most optimistic prognosticators.”

“The previous fastest vaccine ever developed … would just be entering into the clinic now. And we’ve delivered 11 billion doses,” Hatchett noted. “That’s how much we’ve moved the needle.”

“Had the pandemic been triggered by a virus belonging to a less well-studied family, the world might still be waiting for vaccines.”

“The enormity of these achievements becomes even more impressive when you consider this: Three of the four largest Western vaccine manufacturers — Merck, Sanofi, and GSK — have not contributed a vaccine to these efforts.”

“There’s been just an enormous amount of negative coverage on the global vaccine rollout effort. Much of the criticism is entirely merited but it lost the big-picture perspective,” she said. “This is actually the most important public health program or effort in history.”

https://www.statnews.com/2022/02/14/why-covid-19-vaccines-are-a-freaking-miracle/

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Amy Rogers, MD, PhD, is a Harvard-educated scientist, novelist, journalist, and educator. Learn more about Amy’s science thriller novels at AmyRogers.com.