Immortal Cells From 1951 May Be the Key to COVID-19 Vaccines

Unethical actions from the past may save the future

Henrietta Lacks (Source: The Atlanta Voice)

You may not know it, but immortal cells have been the pillars of modern medical research and they are still considered essential since they are the only cells that can live and multiply outside of the human body. These have been the same cells that have helped researchers come up with previous vaccines that we have used to combat different viruses, flues, and diseases. However, to better understand the true meaning of these immortal cells we will need to go back to 1951 where their legacy began.

Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks (Source: The New York Times)

The immortal cells that I have been speaking about (also known as HeLa cells) are Henrietta Lack’s cells which were taken from her when she was alive, on the year of her death. In 1951, Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer and she was an African-American during the segregation period. The closest hospital with a “colored ward” (a medical ward specifically for black people) was Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore.