There is an interesting article in the New York Times. I am a bit urprised to see it. The Times publishes most of its articles behind a paywall, making most articles available only to subscribers. I am not a subscriber but I had no difficulty in reading this:

On Saturday, after a 12-year effort, the Department of Veterans Affairs reached a long-term goal — it enrolled the millionth veteran in a genetic database, the Million Veteran Program.

According to the V.A., the Million Veteran Program is the largest such database in the world. It includes not only genetic information but also is linked to the department’s electronic medical records and even contains records of diet and environmental exposure.

The department says its data are available for now only to V.A. doctors and scientists, most of whom also have academic appointments. They have published hundreds of studies using what has already been collected.

A Moment That Sums It Up: 3:46 p.m.

The millionth vet joined the database on the afternoon of Nov. 8. Employees who had waited a dozen years for this moment wept.

As the goal approached, the department had started an intensive email campaign, encouraging vets to sign up online or at V.A. medical centers. In the few weeks building up to the millionth vet, what had been a few hundred enrollees a day turned into thousands. The department created a ticker, which it posted online, showing the numbers.

“This is a gift to the world,” said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the under secretary for health in the Department sVeterans Affairs.

The V.A. will continue to enroll more vets to the database, but this was a symbolic moment.

The rest of the article may be found at: https://tinyurl.com/45rtfkn.