Biochemist Roy van der Meel: “Corona vaccins are effective and safe”

July 1, 2021

Eindhoven researcher talks to science enthusiast Lieven Scheire in our Dutch podcast Sound of Science about his work and the great success of corona vaccines.

The lightning-fast development of BioNtech/Pfizer and Moderna's successful mRNA vaccines against the Corona virus aroused some people's distrust last year. Had the drugs been properly tested?

Roy van der Meel, associate professor in the faculty of Biomedical Engineering and a specialist in developing nanoparticles for drug delivery, understands those concerns. But, he says, they are not justified. "The vaccines are not only very effective, they are also very safe."

In this episode of our Dutch science podcast Sound of Science, the biochemist explains that the corona vaccines were preceded by years of intensive research. "The pandemic just accelerated the process," he says.

Explaining science

The researcher believes it is important for scientists to take responsibility for explaining their work properly to the general public. And Van der Meel doesn't just do that in this podcast. He was one of the initiators of the Eindhoven edition of Pint of Science, where researchers talk about their work during informal meetings in the café.

You can listen to the conversation with Roy van der Meel in the player hereafter. Or go to your favorite podcast platform and search for 'Sound of Science'. Subscribe to get automatic updates on future episodes!