First, assume a pandemic and then assume that people are getting sick and dying (starting point). Then “confirm” the pandemic spread based on random evaluation of hospital visits, mostly one (indicator) patient per hospital/country. If most “indicator” patients evaluated were successfully treated with common and standard treatments under the situation and recovered without serious illness or deaths, still assume that countries are in the midst of a deadly pandemic. Next, assume that infection is virus-based and assume the virus is novel, call it SARS-CoV-2, “confirmed” by a PCR test. Understandably, the test has never been shown to work for the virus or its illness (because it cannot test them) but still assume that the test works for the novel virus. It is unnecessary to validate the test against the reference (gold) standard but assume it is validated. To provide “scientific” proof of the novel virus existence, conduct isolation of the “isolate” and assume that isolate/lysate is the virus. Once labeled with the virus infection (i.e., PCR positive), isolate the patients from others and assume they will recover. If not recovered, then assume that they died of virus illness or CVID-19.
Further, assume that the only effective treatment has to be a vaccine and assume it has to be a new one. Assume no current medicine or therapy is workable. Conduct clinical trials in healthy volunteers (not patients sick with the virus). However, assume that with the PCR-test negative results, subjects got protected from the virus, which was assumed to be present. Calculate the RVE (Relative Vaccine Efficacy) not real or absolute Vaccine Efficacy to assume that the vaccines have been highly successful.
Oh, sorry, assume the word assume as “science” and shout out repeatedly. Voila, you have been working with science or following the science – “the medical/pharmaceutical science”!