CURIOSITY SERIES. The placebo effect.

For years, placebo control has been considered a manifestation of atrocious control methods in trials of vaccines and drugs. The placebo effect is when an improvement is observed, despite an individual receiving a placebo as opposed to active medical treatment. Many vaccine or drug trials are nowadays placebo-controlled. In simple terms, placebo means, the test medicine or vaccine is given to a group of volunteers - but half of them receive plain water, and the rest receive the actual medicine. In most situations, neither the volunteers nor the doctors ever know which people got medicine & which people got a placebo. This information is retained by head medical personnel. It is done to ensure that any positive effect of the drug is caused by the drug itself, and not by our natural immunity. if the same improvement or casualty is found in both the groups, then they know it is not due to the drug/vaccine. 

But as a result, the volunteers may die sometimes. For example, in the case of the covid vaccine, the placebo controlled group was at a disadvantage since they never actually got a vaccine. 4 such people died in the AstraZeneca test, 1 died in Moderna test. It so remains a piece of information that any person thinking of being involved in a drug or vaccine trial ought to have in mind.Though different procedures are taken in different research institutions as a result of varying policies in various regions of the world, it still remains an intricate procedure that ought to be handled with a lot of caution.

All that aside, the placebo effect represents a fascinating connection between mind and body and is largely rooted in the patient's expectations. Quite so often, there are always individuals who tend to heal well without the actual medicine or vaccine. Nonetheless, a lot of medical attention is usually employed to ensure that participants in trials don't fall casualties. Placebo control hence remains a medical procedure that proves the neuro-biological possibilities of treatment and further brings out the need for positive mind sets among people infected with various diseases for faster healing.