Tal Zaks

We collected the safety data with a rigor and breadth that has never been done before in human history using tools that have never been available before in human history. The event rates in terms of side effects that people were reporting was about 10 to 20-fold higher than had ever been reported before with even prior vaccines. And the reason was, A, the public was fearful. It was a pandemic.

We collected the safety data with a rigor and breadth that has never been done before in human history using tools that have never been available before in human history. The event rates in terms of side effects that people were reporting was about 10 to 20-fold higher than had ever been reported before with even prior vaccines. And the reason was, A, the public was fearful. It was a pandemic.

B, this was all quick. Nobody had heard of mRNA. And C, all the government entities were pushing out tools to report safety. So, this was a real concern, and we had to stand up systems to capture all of that. Now, the proof is in the pudding.

B, this was all quick. Nobody had heard of mRNA. And C, all the government entities were pushing out tools to report safety. So, this was a real concern, and we had to stand up systems to capture all of that. Now, the proof is in the pudding.

If you remember some of the other vaccines that ended up getting on the market and then getting pulled and people don't use them anymore, the adenovector vaccines, whether it was J&J vaccine or the AstraZeneca one, we discovered event rates that happened at one in 150,000 cases. and they were discovered within weeks to months.

If you remember some of the other vaccines that ended up getting on the market and then getting pulled and people don't use them anymore, the adenovector vaccines, whether it was J&J vaccine or the AstraZeneca one, we discovered event rates that happened at one in 150,000 cases. and they were discovered within weeks to months.

They were assessed as true and relevant, and they were quickly added to the label. Even we discovered this rare myocarditis finding in young adults. It was reported and appropriately put on the label. Still, by the way, the risk of getting the virus is much higher, even just for that side effect of myocarditis, but it appeared to be related to vaccine, and It went on the label.

They were assessed as true and relevant, and they were quickly added to the label. Even we discovered this rare myocarditis finding in young adults. It was reported and appropriately put on the label. Still, by the way, the risk of getting the virus is much higher, even just for that side effect of myocarditis, but it appeared to be related to vaccine, and It went on the label.

And so I've never been as sure of anything in my life as I am of the safety profile of these vaccines because the data and the way it's been collected and analyzed. And look, when you're the executive on the other side of it, A, this is your life's mission to get it right. But B, if you don't, you go to jail. Yeah. I mean, this is as important as it gets in terms of getting it right.

And so I've never been as sure of anything in my life as I am of the safety profile of these vaccines because the data and the way it's been collected and analyzed. And look, when you're the executive on the other side of it, A, this is your life's mission to get it right. But B, if you don't, you go to jail. Yeah. I mean, this is as important as it gets in terms of getting it right.

And believe me, all of us sitting on that side of the table, we're super conscious of the responsibility and making sure we got that safety profile right now. Where did we miss a beat? It was probably in terms of the public backlash. And as I stand back to look at that success, and again, both on the efficacy side, I mean, people have done the math.

And believe me, all of us sitting on that side of the table, we're super conscious of the responsibility and making sure we got that safety profile right now. Where did we miss a beat? It was probably in terms of the public backlash. And as I stand back to look at that success, and again, both on the efficacy side, I mean, people have done the math.

These vaccines have saved millions of lives, full stop. Anybody who believes in reason and science will agree that that's incontroversial. But where did we fail? Because obviously the sentiments I'm expressing here are not uniformly shared by the public. I even have people in my own family who refuse to take the vaccine. So I think it's a question of trust in institutions.

These vaccines have saved millions of lives, full stop. Anybody who believes in reason and science will agree that that's incontroversial. But where did we fail? Because obviously the sentiments I'm expressing here are not uniformly shared by the public. I even have people in my own family who refuse to take the vaccine. So I think it's a question of trust in institutions.

And I think it's also a question of probably scientists, myself included, overstepping our boundary in a sense. And it goes back to the point I started with. of the misguided philosophical framework that we operate under, which assumes that because it is science, it is good. Science per se is not an ethical framework of the force for good.

And I think it's also a question of probably scientists, myself included, overstepping our boundary in a sense. And it goes back to the point I started with. of the misguided philosophical framework that we operate under, which assumes that because it is science, it is good. Science per se is not an ethical framework of the force for good.

People who deploy it for good have the obligation to explain why their moral framework is what it is, and that abuts in other ethical and moral considerations having to do with people's autonomy, freedom, and other aspects that have also ethical and moral perspectives to them. And our society is a balance of these different forces.

People who deploy it for good have the obligation to explain why their moral framework is what it is, and that abuts in other ethical and moral considerations having to do with people's autonomy, freedom, and other aspects that have also ethical and moral perspectives to them. And our society is a balance of these different forces.

And as a democracy, and I'm very proud of our democracy, and I'm a proud immigrant into this country for both the opportunity and the democratic processes we have, I also have to recognize that that means that the public gets to say and vote on the things that have ethical and moral frameworks.

And as a democracy, and I'm very proud of our democracy, and I'm a proud immigrant into this country for both the opportunity and the democratic processes we have, I also have to recognize that that means that the public gets to say and vote on the things that have ethical and moral frameworks.