A PRESIDENT SPEAKS •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Unparalleled achievements
On 8 December last year, a 91-year-old grandmother, Margaret Keenan, became the first person in the UK to be administered the first of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine. Regulatory approval for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine followed swiftly on 30 December 2020 and 8 January 2021, respectively. At the time of writing, over 18 million people in the UK have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and with current rollout rates 16 million people will have received their first dose of the vaccine by the middle of February. It’s well worth reflecting on; three vaccines developed, trialled and approved and several more in late-stage development, to combat a new coronavirus pandemic, all within a year of the first reported cases of SARS-CoV-2. By any measure, it is a remarkable feat of human endeavour and an achievement unparalleled in the history of medicine. Of course, some challenges remain, with new variants of the virus now becoming widespread in a number of countries, with information on the likely efficacy of these vaccines now emerging. Despite this, the speed at which new vaccines have been developed, the diversity of approaches to vaccine design and the speed at which production, validation and regulatory approval have taken place is nothing short of incredible. If politics is the art of the possible then science is surely the art of making the impossible possible.
Brendan Gilmore Queen’s University Belfast
06
microbiologist
|
March 2021
These successes, after a year of tribulations, personal sacrifice and tragic loss, bring hope for a return to aspects of normal life. They also point towards the unfathomable value of the science base, not only here in the UK but across the world, and the importance of continuing to support and invest in both private and public sector scientific research and development. It’s always hard to predict when and from where scientific discoveries will arise, so investing in and maintaining a diverse science base is an essential part of any future pandemic preparedness, and also our ability as a society to respond to emerging global challenges including antimicrobial resistance, food safety and security, climate change, the health of our oceans and addressing health inequalities around the globe. A flexible and diverse science base is the foundation of a healthy economy and a healthy society. At SfAM we support scientists working in all areas of applied microbiology, across a wide range of disciplines, from science outreach activities in the classroom, right through to undergraduates, PhD candidates and scientists at all career stages in the public and private sectors.
www.sfam.org.uk
