Mason County District Library and Abondia Center now turn to the process for approving vaccines in the public lecture series Shifting Landscapes on Monday November 8, with Vaccines: How Good is the Science? at 7-8:30 pm at the Ludington Center for Arts, and on Zoom, featuring John Quiring, Ph.D. in Mathematics and Biostatistics. Science is the second topic in the Shifting Landscapes series. The 2021-2022 series is exploring six areas of our lives that have been reshaped by or during the Covid-19 epidemic and the many events that have occurred in the past 20 months. For over 45 years, John Quiring has been a consultant to the companies which make submissions to the Food and Drug Administration through his company Abond CRO, Inc. He has directed the clinical study design, data collection, statistical analysis and report preparation for over 80 drugs and devices that have obtained FDA approval. John Quiring will present the science behind the approval of products that are regulated by the FDA. The overall general clinical data requirements which form the basis of a NDA (New Drug Approval) submission will be described. Examples taken from the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine FDA submission will be used to illustrate the scientific basis needed for product approval. In asking questions about the nature of science, vaccines, and the course of the pandemic, Shifting Landscapes’ series hopes to address questions on people’s minds. And it hopes the information also helps them get more from news sources as well as their health professionals and others about science that matters to them. There will be no sessions in December but Shifting Landscapes will start again January 10 focusing on education, including the 1619 Project (Jan10), Critical Race Theory (Jan 17), and Teaching Difficult Truths to Children and Youth (Jan 24). Events are free, live or by Zoom. Tickets are not necessary but registration is helpful. To register: mcdl.pub/sl-register. For information check the Mason County District Library website: mcdlibrary.org or contact Thomas Trahey, Mason County District Library at ttrahey@mcdlibrary.org or Brooke Portmann, director of Abondia Center, at baportmann312@gmail.com -- Thomas Trahey Mason County District Library Head of Circulation 231-843-8465