A Pakistani vaccine for Corona!

Way back in the 1960's a drug called Thalidomide wreaked havoc in many countries. It had been approved for use (as a sleeping pill) in Europe and most other countries, but for some reason the U.S. wanted to wait another year before allowing it to be used. The woman doctor who withheld the approval (I think her name was Fay or Kay) became the darling of Americans when it was found that the drug caused babies without limbs to be born after pregnant women had ingested it. I remember seeing photos of some children without legs, others without arms and some without both legs and arms.

At that time a class fellow of mine (Jawed) was caught cheating in an examination and was debarred for three years. He went to the U.S. and never came back. I knew his grandfather, an old man in his eighties and one day I happened to mention Thalidomide to him and was astounded to find that he had never heard of it. Like most of our graduates, he too had stopped reading after graduation or after attaining the age of sixty. I frequently come across doctors who have not read about the latest advances in the treatment of diabetes and heart disease. They're only interested in keeping body and soul together, and have very little time for reading. It's a pity, but we'll have to live with it.

So, when I read about some Pakistani medical students who claimed to have developed a vaccine against Corona, I was skeptical. There's also a Pakistani doctor in the UK who says he's found the cure for Corona using herbs and other plants. Apparently he and the others don't know that it takes months of testing before a vaccine can be approved.