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Many people believe that a #COVID19 vaccine will be their sword and shield against the pandemic, and that they will get it very soon. Accelerated time-to-market may be wonderful in many product categories, but it is fraught with dangers in the pharmaceutical/healthcare domain.
Example 1: @ProcterGamble launched a tampon brand, Rely, in the US market in 1975. The brand promised unprecedented absorbency. Until the law of unintended consequences kicked in and it was implicated in Toxic Shock syndrome in users. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3238331/
Here's an ad which ran at the time, with the tagline, "Remember, they named it 'Rely'".
Tampons are now covered in the US by rigorous, @US_FDA prescribed medical device standards.
Tampons are now covered in the US by rigorous, @US_FDA prescribed medical device standards.
Who would have ever thought that use of a potent tranquilizer would have horribly tragic results, not for users, but for their yet to be born children? Thalidomide entered the German market in 1957, as an OTC product offering efficacy and safety.
In just 3 years, it had gained consumers in over 40 countries and sold at levels comparable to aspirin. However a gynaecologist in Australia began to notice serious birth defects among the children born to users. More here https://helix.northwestern.edu/article/thalidomide-tragedy-lessons-drug-safety-and-regulation
These are tragedies which even I, as a lay person, am familiar with. I am sure, medical professionals like @docbhooshan and @netshrink will know several other such anecdotes.
Our best plan right now is the simple three part self-defence plan. Mask. Wash. Distance. Repeat!
