Patrick

Vaccines Scientist, France

It’s so important to me that we develop a safe and effective vaccine because, like many others,  my family has been badly affected by COVID-19.

I’m Patrick.

I work in research and development, in the non-clinical department. Which means that I look at the safety of the vaccines before the trials even start.

I say I have three roles – I define what is needed to keep people safe; I monitor our studies and make sure we create a safe methodology; I prepare regulatory documents and answer questions from health authorities.

It’s so important to me that we develop a safe and effective vaccine because, like many others, my family has been badly affected by the disease.

Both my elderly uncles got Covid. During the first wave, my uncle was in a coma for a couple of weeks. He had serious complications, and even had to have surgery, and receive skin implants on the side of his cheeks. During the second wave, his brother got sick, and ended up in hospital on a respirator. I’m so grateful my uncles have recovered, but I’ve seen the devastating impact that Covid has had on families firsthand.

As a consequence, my parents are very afraid of the disease. They didn’t want to spend Christmas together because they are elderly, and at risk. This is the first time we’ve ever spent Christmas apart.

Everyone in my team is working hard to produce the vaccines quickly, so we can protect people like my uncle. And no resource has been spared. We’ve been able to hire more people. We have teams in different time zones working around the clock. And the regulators have found ways to respond quickly to us without cutting any corners.

We can all be part of the solution. By getting vaccinated, you won’t just be protecting yourself, you’ll be helping to protect vulnerable people like my uncles and parents too.