As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe, many scientists have been working on finding a cure. According to Black Enterprise, Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett is one of the experts leading the effort to create a vaccine that would combat the disease.
Dr. Corbett, who serves as a viral immunologist, has joined forces with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a medical solution to the public health crisis. After learning about how infectious the disease was in January, she and a group of researchers set out to find a cure. The team started the first human trials of a possible COVID-19 vaccine in Seattle. The vaccine development process can take upwards of a year, according to Dr. Corbett.
“What we know is that this virus is in the same family of viruses like SARS,” she said in a COVID-19 explainer video released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “It is akin and about 80 percent genetically similar to the SARS virus. Every day we’re learning more. Obviously, because this is a novel virus and even though we’ve been to this rodeo before with MERS and SARS, there are still so many unknowns.”
Dr. Corbett—a University of Maryland alum who earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—has over a decade of scientific research experience.
According to a report released by Johns Hopkins University, there are over 100,000 COVID-19 cases within the U.S. and over 600,000 around the globe.
SEE ALSO:
‘I’m Still Livid’: Ayanna Pressley Reacts To Coronavirus Stimulus Package That Passed The House
Why Is Coronavirus Killing More Black People In Milwaukee Than In All Of Wisconsin?
