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The Power of Science
THROUGHOUT A LARGE DRUG TRIAL, ALMOST EVERYONE, including the company making the drug, is in the dark. Information is “blinded” to protect the integrity of the study. So Moderna’s thirty thousand volunteers didn’t know whether they got a vaccine or a placebo (some guessed vaccine after experiencing side effects, but they didn’t know for sure). The doctors and nurses who administered the shots didn’t know if they were giving participants the vaccine or a placebo; both had identical labels and appearances. Moderna didn’t know who got what.
And no one knew if it was working. Except the DSMB.
The Phase 3 trials were monitored by an obscure committee called a Data Safety and Monitoring Board, or DSMB. Most drug trials have ...
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