My first job was cleaning laboratory glassware: Kamala Harris
What's the story
United States Vice President Kamala Harris has said that her first job was to clean pipettes in her mother's laboratory, as she visited the National Health Institute headquarters for the second dose of her COVID-19 vaccine. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris from Chennai, was a breast cancer researcher who died of cancer in 2009. Her father Donald Harris is a Jamaican-American professor of economics.
Quote
Harris's mother was in biochemical endocrinology section at NIH
"My mother would go to Bethesda and of course, what she was doing was coming here to NIH. She was in the biochemical endocrinology section," Harris said on Tuesday during her visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
Details
I visited her lab after school and on weekends: Harris
Recalling her visits to her mother's laboratory, Harris said, "She was a peer reviewer. My mother had two goals in her life: To raise her two daughters and end breast cancer." "In fact, a little known fact is that my first job was cleaning pipettes in my mother's lab. She would take us there with her after school and on weekends," she added.
Public Health
NIH is not about profit, it's about the people: Harris
Talking about the importance of NIH, Harris said, "This is about an essential function of government, which is to provide for public health. The work that happens here has one goal: To improve public health." The NIH is the top scientific research institute in the United States. Harris appeared to be well aware of the working of scientists at the lab.
Significance
Harris acknowledged the institute's work in reviewing grants
Acknowledging NIH's contribution, she added, "I know that you work around the clock. I know the work that you do reviewing grants. Some of the most significant scientific research has been publicly funded. That's what my mother did, she reviewed grants." She ended by saying that NIH was a huge part of her youth because of her late mother's dedication toward her work there.
Cases
The US is the worst-affected country from COVID-19
Harris, America's first Black and South Asian Vice President, took over the office from Mike Pence on January 20. The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was administered to her on December 29. The US is the worst-affected country from COVID-19 which has killed more than 420,000 people in the last year. The country also has over 25,293,000 confirmed cases.