Scientific Research on Coronavirus Vaccine

Connection Between Class Learning and an Article
The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is considered critical in curbing the spread of this virus and dealing with the global pandemic. Companies like Moderna have embarked on efforts to develop an effective coronavirus vaccine. The development process involves conducting extensive research through clinical trials. These clinical trials involves using different concepts of scientific research to ensure the effectiveness of the vaccines. Grady (2020) published an article on the effectiveness of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine based on early data.
One of the connections between the article and lessons learnt in the classroom is the use of two groups of study participants i.e. an experimental group and a control group. In this regard, the study employed a between-participants design for the experimentation to determine the difference between conditions among people who contracted the virus. The experimental group of five people were vaccinated while the control group of 90 people received placebo shots of saltwater (Grady, 2020).
Once the treatment was administered to the experimental group, difference in conditions was measured to determine the impact and effectiveness of the vaccine. Based on insights obtained from the course, measuring the difference in conditions is essential when conducting experimentation. In Moderna’s study, the difference in conditions was measured statistically though the article does not report on how this was carried out.
The difference in conditions between the two groups reflected the changes in the dependent variable, which in turn determined the effectiveness of the vaccine. As evident in the course, changes in the dependent variable are used to determine the impact of the treatment in experimental studies.
Hypothesis testing and statistical significance play an important role in determining the results of an experimental study. The vaccine news article postulates that the hypothesis being tested was that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine lessens the chance of contracting the virus. The statistical significance i.e. the statistical difference between the groups determined whether the hypothesis was accepted or rejected. Given the high statistical difference between the two groups, the hypothesis was accepted while the null hypothesis was rejected because its probability was below the pre-determined level of significance.
Reference
Grady, D. (2020, November 16). Early Data Shows Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Is 94.5% Effective. The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/health/Covid-moderna-vaccine.html