After perusing social media and talking with my non-scientist friends, the biggest concern I keep hearing about COVID vaccines is that the speed at which they’re being developed makes people question the vaccines’ safety. 1/
There will ALWAYS be people who are anti-vaxx, no matter what. No amount of evidence, personal conversation, empathy etc. will change their minds. I can usually spot these people quite fast and have learned not to engage further. It’s futile and draining. 2/
But there are a lot more people who are ‘vaccine hesitant.’ This definitely applies to how people view COVID vaccines. Even friends of mine I’d consider science literate are wary of how fast the vaccine process is moving. 3/
To bring some levity to the craziness that‘s been this week in #coronavirus news, here’s a thread of how I’m processing it all with Harry Potter gifs. 1/
How it felt sitting together after Monday meeting in the Microbiology department at Sinai, discussing the latest science and medicine regarding #SARSCoV2 2/
Me, when I see a tweet by the president indicating he cares more about the stock market and his image than human lives and preventing a pandemic. 3/
When I started grad school, I was certain I wanted to join a virology lab, so 3/4 of my rotations were in molecular virology labs. I was having fun, but was overwhelmed with classes and imposter syndrome. 2/n
Halfway through my last rotation, I found myself staring in disbelief at a positive pregnancy test. (Sidebar: Birth control is only 99% effective when taken correctly, y’all) This was 8 months into a PhD program and I was terrified. 3/n