I am launching a campaign to thank seven scientists who were instrumental in making the two Pfizer vaccines that went into my arm and allowed me back into the world. If you’d like to join me, see the bottom of this email for those seven names and addresses as well as scripts and ideas for what to say!

Why thank scientists?

Months back, when I imagined being fully vaccinated, I envisioned a PARTY—dancing, laughing, hugging strangers. The reality has been more… subdued. Like many people, I am struggling to transition into this phase. 

Writing 365 thank you notes in a year, which I wrote about in my new book I Want to Thank You, taught me that expressing gratitude is a great way to process complicated feelings. And folks have been trying to do just that. There’s the wall at the Javits Center in NYC where newly vaccinated people are welcome to write a note of thanks. And there’s the trending #thankyouscience. 

But is it enough? There’s something unsatisfying about throwing out a vague THANK YOU SCIENCE. A couple months ago I was listening to The New York Times Daily podcast, and I perked up when reporter Apoorva Mandavilli said, “I think that is something that maybe people don’t marvel at enough, the idea that we did not even dream that we could have a vaccine this quickly. And here we are vaccinating millions of people every day.”

I’ve been thinking about that ever since. 

How can I best express my gratitude to the people who helped us out of the darkest phase of COVID? Not only because it’s a nice thing to do, but to help me understand that it’s not a trick: My life can start going back to something akin to normal. Enjoying my life will not jinx things. “Joy is not meant to be a crumb,” wrote Mary Oliver.

Then I read Gina Kolata’s super detailed New York Times article about the woman behind mRNA technology and the men who’ve helped her along the way. (What’s that phrase… behind every great woman are a series of men who, unlike most in their field, didn’t ignore or belittle her!) 

I looked up these scientists’ work addresses and started writing. And right way, I started feeling that relaxed, focused sensation that inspired me to start my Thank You Year in the first place. I got emotional when I wrote this line: “It’s all thanks to the incredible ingenuity and hard work of scientists—including you.” I was reminded that thank you notes are a great way to find catharsis. (I’m thinking of the notes I wrote to my dad’s cardiologists in the month I dedicated to thanking healthcare workers.)

We went through a shared trauma, folks, and in trauma, as Mr. Rogers advised, you should look for the helpers. There were so many: We spent months clapping for doctors and delivery people and postal workers. Now, it’s time to turn to the scientists who’ve gotten us to this new place, hard as it may be to fully trust it. And instead of #thankyouscience… let’s get more specific. #IWanttoThanktheScientists—those individuals without whom this shot might not have gotten into your arm the moment it did.

Now, what to say?

If you join me in writing these notes, I’d love if you could post on Instagram and tag me @gina.hamadey and use the hashtag #IWanttoThanktheScientists. 

Here’s a little script for you to use:

PARAGRAPH ONE:

Spend a sentence or so explaining why you’re writing. 

“Thank you for your help in making the mRNA vaccine that’s allowed my family and me to get back to our lives.”

or

“I read about you in the NYT article about Dr. Kariko. Thank you for supporting her ideas in a crucial time, allowing her to forge on and create the technology that’s gotten my family and me back to our lives.”

or

[To Dr. Kariko] “Thank you for dedicating your life to mRNA technology, and for your work developing the vaccine that’s allowed my family and me to get back to our lives. This despite years of obstacles and opposition. I read the NYT piece and am in awe of your steadfast tenacity, not to mention ingenuity.”

PARAGRAPH TWO:

Explain what COVID was like for YOU. Don’t be afraid to get personal. 

“We spent spring 2020 cocooned in our Brooklyn home, often only emerging once a day to cheer for essential workers, including our emergency room doctor neighbor, whose stories were grim, to say the least.”

PARAGRAPH THREE:

Write about how things are changing for you, thanks to the vaccine.

“Flash forward to this past weekend, when we walked with unmasked friends: There was live music, ice cream, and a sense of normalcy that I’m honestly having a tough time trusting entirely. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend came over for dinner, unmasked. My son Henry said it felt like a holiday.”

END WITH GRATITUDE

“It’s all thanks to the dogged dedication and ingenuity of scientists. Thank you for your work in mRNA.”

or

[To Dr. Kariko] “Thank you for never giving up. You had your own personal life, your own COVID stories and fears… and yet you forged on to allow us this moment. Thank you.”

Who to thank, and what they did
 

1. Kati Kariko — DEDICATED HER LIFE TO mRNA TECHNOLOGY
BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals

An der Goldgrube 12

Mainz, D-55131
 

2. Dr. Drew Weissman — ALONG WITH DR. KARIKO, WORKED ON mRNA TECHNOLOGY; WROTE GRANTS; PUBLISHED PAPERS; FINALLY CAUGHT ATTENTION OF BIONTECH AND MODERNA

University of Pennsylvania
410B Hill Pavilion

380 S University Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19104
 

3. Dr. Elliot Barnathan — WORKED ON mRNA TECHNOLOGY WITH DR. KARIKO WHEN HE WAS A CARDIOLOGIST AT UPENN IN THE 90S
Janssen Research and Development, LLC
200 Great Valley Pkwy, Malvern, PA 19355

4. David Langer — WORKED IN DR. BARNATHAN’S LAB AS A MEDICAL RESIDENT; TOOK A CHANCE ON DR. KARIKO BUT THEIR ON mRNA TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTS FAILED

Lenox Hill Hospital

Department of Neurosurgery

130 East 77th Street, 3 Black Hall

New York, NY 10075

5. Pieter Cullis — HELPED DEVELOP THE LIPID BUBBLE TO ENCASE THE mRNA AND CARRY IT TO CELLS 

The University of British Columbia

Life Sciences Centre, Office 5451

2350 Health Sciences Mall

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3

Canada

6. Dr. Barney Graham — HELPED TO ISOLATE THE VIRUS’S SPIKE PROTEIN FROM THE GENETIC DATA PROVIDED BY CHINESE RESEARCHERS
The National Institutes of Health
BG 40 RM 2502

40 CONVENT DR

BETHESDA MD 20814

7. Jason McClellan — HELPED TO ISOLATE THE VIRUS’S SPIKE PROTEIN FROM THE GENETIC DATA PROVIDED BY CHINESE RESEARCHERS
The University of Texas at Austin
Molecular Biosciences, College of Natural Sciences
100 E 24TH ST

AUSTIN, TX 78712