Did You Know Elon Musk Just Donated $5 Million to Boston?

Does better late than never apply here? Do we believe in the power of forgiveness? Because at the beginning of the pandemic, I don't think anyone would've ever guessed that down the line, Elon Musk would flip the script on his view and stance on COVID and actually donate $5 million for the development of a vaccine and diagnostic tool.

If you remember (or if you didn't even know), back at the start of the pandemic, Elon Musk couldn't have been more wrong about the coronavirus. He downplayed the risks, said it would be gone within a few weeks, and at one point refused to close his California car plant, referencing the shelter-in-place orders as just straight up "fascist."

Thankfully, at least for the power of research and the greater good, Elon has had a change of heart (and I truly, honestly hope it wasn't because he first-hand observed someone lose a battle with COVID), because he just ponied up $5 million through his Musk Foundation.

According to Boston.com, the money is going directly to two Boston researchers that helped create not only a vaccine for COVID, but also a diagnostic tool for it as well. The two doctors are pretty accomplished, too (although, what Boston doctor isn't, really? It's medicine. IN BOSTON!)

Boston.com says that the beneficiaries of the donation are Dr. Dan Barouch, who is the director of the Center of Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel, as well as a card-carrying member of the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard. The second researcher is Dr. Galit Alter, who is a professor in medicine at the Ragon Institute.

Now, this is great for a variety of reasons. First off, the simple fact that even if Elon didn't change his mind on how he feels about COVID, the fact that he knows it's an actual problem and wants to help eradicate it is just a HUGE step forward for us. And if he DID change his mind about his views, well, it just goes to show that you never have to stand firm in your views for no other reason than pride's sake, because if one of the richest humans in the world isn't afraid to swallow his pride (if he in fact has changed his views), then it means it's ok for you, too.

Secondly, this is incredible because WHERE BETTER TO HAVE THIS RESEARCH DONE THAN IN BOSTON? Do you know that I haven't had gone to any kind of doctor -- PCP, dentist, eye doctor, NADA -- since I left for Tulsa? Now, it's nothing again doctors and nurses out there. They got hired in their careers for a reason. But that said, it's just the simple fact that Boston/New England is one of the best medical regions in the world, let alone the country. It's like with seafood -- Tulsa seafood wasn't bad, but it wasn't New England seafood. Just like New England BBQ isn't Tulsa BBQ.

Here's hoping Elon's super generous donation brings us one step closer to getting as over this pandemic as possible and getting back to as normal as possible. I think we've all more than had it at this point. We have cabin fever, we miss our friends and family -- heck, we miss something as simple as hugs!