The First Shots
Author(s): Brendan Borrell
The full inside story of the high-stakes, global race for the lifesaving vaccine to end the pandemic
Heroic science. Chaotic politics. Billionaire entrepreneurs.Award-winning journalist Brendan Borrell brings the defining story of our times alive through compulsively readable, first-time reporting on the players leading thefight against a vicious virus.The First Shots, soon to bethe subject of an HBO limited series with superstar director and producer Adam McKay (Succession, Vice, The Big Short), draws on exclusive, high-level access to weave together the intensevaccine-race conflicts among hard-driving, heroic scientists and the epic rivalries among Washington power players that shaped 18 months of fear, resolve, and triumph.
From infectious disease expert Michael Callahan, an American doctor secretly on the ground in Wuhan in January 2020 to gauge the terrifying ravages of Disease X;to Robert (Dr. Bob) Kadlec, one of Operation Warp Speeds architects, whose audacious plans for the American people run straight into the buzz saw of the Trump White House factions;to Stphane Bancel of upstart Moderna Therapeutics going toe-to-toe with pharma behemoth Pfizer,The First Shotslays bare, in a way we have not seen, the full stunning story behind the medical sciencemoon shot of our lifetimes.
Review(s):
"For decades well be studying where our country succeeded and how it faltered in its fight against the worst pandemic in 100 years. In his vivid account of the tumultuous journey toward developing a coronavirus vaccine, Brendan Borrell offers immediate and hugely valuable insights. Beyond the chaotic politics, clashing egos and erratic logistics were unprecedented scientific achievements. Those audacious efforts, and the people behind them, come fully to life in Borrells absorbing narrative."
Brendan Borrell has delivered the definitive account of the race to develop and manufacture the vaccines needed to combat Covid-19. The book does a masterful job of explaining the science behind the vaccines while unfurling a vivid story full of exceptional characters locked in a thrilling competition to do nothing less than try and save the world. It's a gripping tale of what happens when unlikely heroes battle through extraordinary circumstances.
"Borrell focuseson political and turf wars and the uneven federal response to the pandemic, highlighted by the Hunger Games-esque competition among states for necessary supplies, and the lack of federal guidelines and high-level role-modeling for the wearing of masks[A] dramatic and fast-moving tale of the outbreak response and vaccine development."
[For his] tale of Americas pandemic responseBorrell had great access inside the Trump administration, and there are juicy details.
"Borrells gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the race for a COVID vaccine reads like a thriller. But its also a stunning look at politics, greeds, ego and scientific brilliance, from the arduous task of production, then testing, to decisions about who gets immunized first.
"Borrells book shines in his absorbing account of how, against the odds, the government-backed publicprivate vaccine-development planOperation Warp Speedarose from the primordial sludge of pandemic policymaking inside the Trump White House.
A vivid portrait of the combination of drudgery, greed, legerdemain, and brilliance that made the vaccines a reality in record time a meticulous, thrilling account.
"Brendan Borrells engaging, often intriguing study involving an epic cast of characters and a complex list of companies and organizations captures the combination of urgency and often shambolic politics of what was a global effort.Theres a real fly-on-the-wall sense of immediacy to his portrait of the time."
Relying on extensive firsthand sources, Borrell has produced a readable and detailed early account of developing and implementing [the Covid] vaccines.Clashes of egos and the potential prestige and profits involved in being the first to succeed produce a story that reads like a thriller.
"A powerful behind-the-scenes look at Operation Warp Speed . . .a page-turning introduction to a key part of the pandemic."
ISBN:9780358569848
