Hypothesis – Therapy X prevents Disease Z and is safe. So,….let’s randomize 30,000 people into two groups of 15,000 apiece (A and B).
Give Group A the experimental “Therapy X” and Group B a placebo….
Monitor for three months, and compare Group A and Group B….
Disease Z occurred in 5 of 15,000 people in Group A who received Therapy X,….90 of 15,000 people in the placebo Group B. And, no safety concerns or serious side effects in Group A. Because of the large ‘n’ many known and unknown confounders were equally distributed between the groups (grazi James Lind),….and the probability that these results would have been found if Therapy X were an ineffective therapy (null hypothesis) was well below 1 in 20 (the P value).
The Moderna SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine coming soon! If there has ever been a more impressive collaborative public health or science accomplishment ever you’ll have to share with us what that would be,…..Manhattan Project WWII?,.…NASA man-on-moon July 1969?,…. The previous fastest vaccine development ever was for the mumps – 4 years.
The world will now change again thanks to all those involved with vaccine science, study subjects, funding, and distribution. Something to be in awe of.
Three brief COVID-19 pearls attached: a) COVID-19 is likely not associated with less premature births, b) why you can be confident in vaccine safety, and c) why we should wear masks.
“Gratitude is the parent of all virtues”,.……..Cicero.
Joe Kaempf, MD
District VIII Oregon Representative
Portland, OR
Volume 12, Number 44
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33203528/