At that time, the epidemic in China was spreading very badly, and the country did not have so much financial resources to import vaccinesTaking into account China's national conditions and the epidemic situation, Gu Fangzhou decided to choose the route of research and development of live vaccines. He knew that it was a challenging and risky task, involving not only technical difficulties, but also humanitarian and ethical issues. But he firmly believes that this is what must be done in order to save more children and to free more families from the disease.
In 1959, Gu Fangzhou and his team traveled to a remote mountain village in Yunnan Province to set up a temporary laboratory. This is the final and most critical stage of their live vaccine development. They need to screen out the three main types of viruses from virus samples collected across the country, and then chemically attenuate them to make vaccines.
It was a long and arduous process, and they had to face not only the dangers of the virus, but also the harsh environment and living conditions. The labs were made of wooden planks and iron sheets, the walls were full of cracks, and the equipment was rudimentary and old. They have to be busy until late at night every day, with no time to rest and no chance to reunite.
They have only one belief, which is to complete the development of vaccines as soon as possible and contribute to the country and the people.
After nine months of tireless work, they finally succeeded in producing a live vaccine and conducting trials on its effectiveness and safety on primates. When they saw the results of the experiment, they were ecstatic, hugged each other, felt the value of all the efforts, and saw the dawn of hope.
Experiments can be carried out on animals to indicate the first step of the vaccine clinical trial, in order to verify the safety of the vaccine, human trials are essential, but this vaccine is specially developed for children, and what parent can bear to treat their children as guinea pigs in the laboratory?
This is an extremely sensitive and difficult decision, not to mention the fact that a live vaccine has the potential to cause a paralyzing and even life-threatening reaction in the trialist. But they also understand that without human trials, vaccines will not be available, the pandemic will continue to rage, and more children will suffer.
One night after the vaccine was successfully developed, Gu Fangzhou sat alone in the laboratory, holding a small tube containing a pale yellow liquid in his hand, which was the live vaccine they had worked so hard to develop. He looked at it closely, as if he were examining his own fate. He knew he had a big choice to make, one that could change the fate of him and his family, and potentially save millions of innocent lives.
He looked up the window and saw a bright moon hanging high in the sky, illuminating the dark earth. He exhaled softly, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind. He walked out of the lab to his apartment and saw his son sleeping soundly in bed. His son is just over a year old, and he and his wife have worked hard for ten years. His son, with his big bright eyes, a cute little mouth, and jet-black hair, was their hope and joy.
Gu Fangzhou gently hugged his son, hugged him tightly in his arms, felt his temperature and breathing, and an indescribable emotion surged in his heart. He was also reluctant, but he knew that only by sacrificing himself could he save thousands of lives in the country.
He whispered to his son: "Son, Dad loves you, but Dad wants Dad to do something that is unfair to you, in order to make them no longer suffer from polio, only you can help Dad, Dad will always love you and protect you forever." ”
Gu Fangzhou gently opened the small tube and dropped the live vaccine into his son's mouth. The son felt a hint of sweetness, opened his mouth slightly, and then went back to sleep. Gu Fangzhou's tears flowed silently, and he prayed silently, hoping that everything would go well. He used his own flesh and blood to make the greatest sacrifice for the country and the people, and also made the greatest contribution to the prevention and treatment of polio.
A week later, his son did not have any adverse reactions, and Gu Fangzhou's heart was slightly relieved. But when his wife learned the truth, she fell into deep grief and anger. She couldn't accept the fact that her husband was experimenting with her own son, and she felt that he was too ruthless, too irresponsible, and too inhumane. She had a heated argument with her husband and even wanted to leave him.
Gu Fangzhou was also in pain, he knew that his love for his son was no less than that of his wife, and he could understand his wife's criminal law, he used all his patience and gentleness to explain and apologize to his wife, hoping to save her heart.
After a period of communication and adjustment, his wife finally forgave Gu Fangzhou and re-understood the meaning and value of his career. Together with Gu Fangzhou, she is promoting the live vaccine to more families. In order to increase the palatability of the vaccine, she also came up with a way to make the vaccine in the form of a sugar pill to make it easier for children to eat. This sugar pill vaccine later became popular all over the country. In 1994, China successfully eradicated polio. In 2019, 91-year-old Gu Fangzhou died of illness in Beijing. His life, although full of hardships and sacrifices, was also full of glory and contributions. With his wisdom and courage, he made indelible contributions to the country and the people, and his spirit of selfless dedication will always be remembered.