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Longshot: The Inside Story of the Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine
This is the incredible story of the scientists who created a coronavirus vaccine in record time.
In Longshot , investigative journalist David Heath takes readers inside the small group of scientists whose groundbreaking work was once largely dismissed but whose feat will now eclipse the importance of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine in medical history. With never-before-reported details, Heath reveals how these scientists overcame countless obstacles to give the world an unprecedented head start when we needed a COVID-19 vaccine.
The story really begins in the 1990s, with a series of discoveries that were timed perfectly to prepare us for the worst pandemic since 1918. Readers will meet Katalin Karikó, who made it possible to use messenger RNA in vaccines but struggled for years just to hang on to her job. There’s also Derrick Rossi, who leveraged Karikó’s work to found Moderna but was eventually expelled from his company. And then there’s Barney Graham at the National Institutes of Health, who had a career-long obsession with solving the riddle of why two toddlers died in a vaccine trial in 1966, a tragedy that ultimately led to a critical breakthrough in vaccine science.
With both foresight and luck, Graham and these other crucial scientists set the course for a coronavirus vaccine years before COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China. The author draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with key players to tell the definitive story about how the race to create the vaccine sparked a revolution in medical science.
In Longshot , investigative journalist David Heath takes readers inside the small group of scientists whose groundbreaking work was once largely dismissed but whose feat will now eclipse the importance of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine in medical history. With never-before-reported details, Heath reveals how these scientists overcame countless obstacles to give the world an unprecedented head start when we needed a COVID-19 vaccine.
The story really begins in the 1990s, with a series of discoveries that were timed perfectly to prepare us for the worst pandemic since 1918. Readers will meet Katalin Karikó, who made it possible to use messenger RNA in vaccines but struggled for years just to hang on to her job. There’s also Derrick Rossi, who leveraged Karikó’s work to found Moderna but was eventually expelled from his company. And then there’s Barney Graham at the National Institutes of Health, who had a career-long obsession with solving the riddle of why two toddlers died in a vaccine trial in 1966, a tragedy that ultimately led to a critical breakthrough in vaccine science.
With both foresight and luck, Graham and these other crucial scientists set the course for a coronavirus vaccine years before COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China. The author draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with key players to tell the definitive story about how the race to create the vaccine sparked a revolution in medical science.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published January 18, 2022
19 people are currently reading
2051 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 22, 2022
I think this would better be titled "A history of vaccination, including the race for a COVID-19 Vaccine." The race for a COVID-19 vaccine is really the first and last forty minutes or so, with the rest being a history of vaccine development and experimentation, including missteps and mistakes. Just like Rosalind Franklin is DNA's unsung hero and Einstein's wife Milevia Maric is for relativity, the effort to find RNA-based vaccines for coronaviruses has Katalin Karikó. That's most of the first part of the COVID-19 story here. The middle story of vaccines overall underscores a history of sad treatment of children (and others) from the first person a smallpox vaccine was tested on, to unfortunate child victims of incorrect vaccines for measles and polio.
March 26, 2022
This book discusses exactly what I have been trying to inform my friends about....mRNA vaccine development is not new. You will read how scientists for years have been creating and perfecting a vaccine to help future, unknown viruses. You'll also learn a lot about vaccine development over time. This book does a fantastic job explaining the facts about vaccines and their usefulness. It is a message that so desperately needs to be shouted from the rooftops in today's society.
November 29, 2022
It is very seldom that I finish a book that I immediately know is really not for me. However, this book had enough information in it, information I had searched for, so I plowed through it and am glad that I made the effort.
Please do not get me wrong, the book for the right audience is probably astounding. The fact is, I am a right brain person and all the science in this book boggled me. If I truly understood half of the research, I feel good about it.
The author's research was through and well worth mention here. He spends his daytime job as an award-winning investigative journalist and a little research on him had me trusting him.
As I said, for the prime left-brain audience, this is the book on Covid-19 for you. We right brain people got enough of it that we are happy,
Please do not get me wrong, the book for the right audience is probably astounding. The fact is, I am a right brain person and all the science in this book boggled me. If I truly understood half of the research, I feel good about it.
The author's research was through and well worth mention here. He spends his daytime job as an award-winning investigative journalist and a little research on him had me trusting him.
As I said, for the prime left-brain audience, this is the book on Covid-19 for you. We right brain people got enough of it that we are happy,
April 18, 2025
4.64 ✴️
January 9, 2022
Barney Graham hung up the phone and took a deep breath, turning to his wife with astonishing news.
“Then he wandered over to his desk, sat down, and wept tears of relief. The type of vaccine he had been perfecting over a decade was far more successful than even he had imagined.”
That news would soon reach a panicked world. A vaccine had been perfected to stifle the Covid19 pandemic.
Now, more than a year after that event, we can read the deep story behind the development of the Covid19 vaccine, and so much more. The scene quoted above happens late in the new non-fiction book, Longshot: The Inside Story of the Race for a Covid-19 Vaccine, by David Heath.
It is a book of scenes as much as it is a brilliant work of science writing. And that’s just part of its strength.
Heath is a hardcore investigative reporter, well known to others in the trade. (Full disclosure, we once worked together, but have had little contact since.)
This is his first book. But turn a few pages and you will quickly see the skilled writer. Moreover, Heath’s specific history in journalism, his resume, made him uniquely qualified to delve into the complexities of molecular science, the intrigues of academia, the world of patents and the undersides of the pharmaceutical and medical businesses.
In 241-pages, Heath goes deeper than anything we have yet read about the efforts to save the world from the current pandemic. And, like I said, so much more.
Obviously, the book was assembled quickly, but it is not what we call in the trade a “quick and dirty.” It is not an assemblage of newspaper clippings and scientific papers, though even that approach could be valuable at this point. No, Heath’s stories are predominantly the result of numerous interviews with the key players in this global drama, including future nominees for Nobel Prizes.
This is a multi-layered story, delving into discoveries that could cure thousands of diseases, and into the coincidences, encounters and strokes of good fortune that turned that science into a vaccine that may save us from dystopia.
Heath details remarkable lab work that solved overwhelming problems.
He introduces us to a rich roster of characters, scientists who collaborated to unravel the “software of life,” the secrets of DNA, and RNA, and the modifications necessary to change the chemistry in our bodies, tricking our cells into making medicine, into saving us, and possibly obliterating a bevy of other diseases.
Graham is one of them, the best of them all, a brilliant scientist with empathy. The others are a mixed panoply of genius, ego, function and dysfunction, vision, generosity, and ambition. Their stories are fascinating. Their scientific discoveries are phenomenal and have not yet reached their potential, not even close. Their collaboration, sometimes uneasy, sometimes accidental, might save your life.
Heath would not author a book without uncovering meaningful scandals. I will not give them away, but the spotlight falls on significant players, including the ultra-rich executives who control Moderna, a Harvard Medical School bigshot, the technology transfer office at the University of Pennsylvania and a medical journal.
There are two themes in the scandals. Ego versus science and money versus science.
Credit is taken from those who deserve it. The biggest profits flow not to the scientists obsessed with discovery but to the investors obsessed with, well, money.
The book dispels myths, most importantly the notion that the Covid19 vaccine was developed too quickly to be safe. In truth, it took two decades to come to this point and involves discoveries that may render obsolete the old approach to vaccinations. And the Covid19 vaccine exceeded FDA expectations. Newer vaccines may be inherently safer.
You can thank Graham, a man who became obsessed with the reasons behind past vaccine failures, and many other players. And, of course, you can thank the unlocking of our DNA. And the clever scientists who developed ways to create images of microscopic viruses and proteins. It turns out that these images were a key to developing the vaccine, Heath explains.
The book also kills off the notion that political forces delayed the Covid19 vaccine long enough for President Donald Trump to lose the election. Heath lays out the sequences, revealing an urgency to perfect the vaccine, safely, of course.
Heath’s wide-ranging approach creates a mixed view of the future. Many more viruses await us, especially if the anti-vaxxers and procrastinators who should read this book do not change their ways.
Heath finished writing before the Omicron variant appeared, but he predicted it.
On the plus side, scientists in this book and others are now developing vaccines that could universally kill off all future variants of a virus. We might also cure the common cold. Other diseases – especially the genetic and auto-immune types – might be candidates for future cures that involve the body making its own medicines.
“Then he wandered over to his desk, sat down, and wept tears of relief. The type of vaccine he had been perfecting over a decade was far more successful than even he had imagined.”
That news would soon reach a panicked world. A vaccine had been perfected to stifle the Covid19 pandemic.
Now, more than a year after that event, we can read the deep story behind the development of the Covid19 vaccine, and so much more. The scene quoted above happens late in the new non-fiction book, Longshot: The Inside Story of the Race for a Covid-19 Vaccine, by David Heath.
It is a book of scenes as much as it is a brilliant work of science writing. And that’s just part of its strength.
Heath is a hardcore investigative reporter, well known to others in the trade. (Full disclosure, we once worked together, but have had little contact since.)
This is his first book. But turn a few pages and you will quickly see the skilled writer. Moreover, Heath’s specific history in journalism, his resume, made him uniquely qualified to delve into the complexities of molecular science, the intrigues of academia, the world of patents and the undersides of the pharmaceutical and medical businesses.
In 241-pages, Heath goes deeper than anything we have yet read about the efforts to save the world from the current pandemic. And, like I said, so much more.
Obviously, the book was assembled quickly, but it is not what we call in the trade a “quick and dirty.” It is not an assemblage of newspaper clippings and scientific papers, though even that approach could be valuable at this point. No, Heath’s stories are predominantly the result of numerous interviews with the key players in this global drama, including future nominees for Nobel Prizes.
This is a multi-layered story, delving into discoveries that could cure thousands of diseases, and into the coincidences, encounters and strokes of good fortune that turned that science into a vaccine that may save us from dystopia.
Heath details remarkable lab work that solved overwhelming problems.
He introduces us to a rich roster of characters, scientists who collaborated to unravel the “software of life,” the secrets of DNA, and RNA, and the modifications necessary to change the chemistry in our bodies, tricking our cells into making medicine, into saving us, and possibly obliterating a bevy of other diseases.
Graham is one of them, the best of them all, a brilliant scientist with empathy. The others are a mixed panoply of genius, ego, function and dysfunction, vision, generosity, and ambition. Their stories are fascinating. Their scientific discoveries are phenomenal and have not yet reached their potential, not even close. Their collaboration, sometimes uneasy, sometimes accidental, might save your life.
Heath would not author a book without uncovering meaningful scandals. I will not give them away, but the spotlight falls on significant players, including the ultra-rich executives who control Moderna, a Harvard Medical School bigshot, the technology transfer office at the University of Pennsylvania and a medical journal.
There are two themes in the scandals. Ego versus science and money versus science.
Credit is taken from those who deserve it. The biggest profits flow not to the scientists obsessed with discovery but to the investors obsessed with, well, money.
The book dispels myths, most importantly the notion that the Covid19 vaccine was developed too quickly to be safe. In truth, it took two decades to come to this point and involves discoveries that may render obsolete the old approach to vaccinations. And the Covid19 vaccine exceeded FDA expectations. Newer vaccines may be inherently safer.
You can thank Graham, a man who became obsessed with the reasons behind past vaccine failures, and many other players. And, of course, you can thank the unlocking of our DNA. And the clever scientists who developed ways to create images of microscopic viruses and proteins. It turns out that these images were a key to developing the vaccine, Heath explains.
The book also kills off the notion that political forces delayed the Covid19 vaccine long enough for President Donald Trump to lose the election. Heath lays out the sequences, revealing an urgency to perfect the vaccine, safely, of course.
Heath’s wide-ranging approach creates a mixed view of the future. Many more viruses await us, especially if the anti-vaxxers and procrastinators who should read this book do not change their ways.
Heath finished writing before the Omicron variant appeared, but he predicted it.
On the plus side, scientists in this book and others are now developing vaccines that could universally kill off all future variants of a virus. We might also cure the common cold. Other diseases – especially the genetic and auto-immune types – might be candidates for future cures that involve the body making its own medicines.
January 18, 2022
With the world in the grip of one of the greatest killers of modern times, the race to discover a new type of vaccine to combat the scourge is told here in a plot worthy of a Michael Connelly murder mystery.
The story of how a handful of scientists from different parts of the world spent more than a decade developing the essential discoveries needed to create the most important medical breakthrough of our time is told in astonishing detail.
Along the way the reader gets an education about, and keen insights into the medicine and science of vaccine development throughout history. We also learn the business and ethical challenges of creating, testing and deploying new ways to protect humanity from the deadly COVID virus.
Make no mistake, this is not a breezy, quick read. Everything about this story is complex and complicated, from the science of how the new messenger RNA vaccines work, to the flaws and eccentricities of the venture capitalists who played vital roles in fast-tracking a new kind of vaccine into a lifesaving commercial product.
But as we are learning all too clearly, in our skeptical modern times developing a cure is not enough. Gaining universal understanding of the science of vaccines, and universal acceptance, is proving perhaps as great a barrier to ultimately defeating COVID 19. This book goes a long way toward bringing the understanding so desperately needed to bring clarity and enlightenment to the task.
The story of how a handful of scientists from different parts of the world spent more than a decade developing the essential discoveries needed to create the most important medical breakthrough of our time is told in astonishing detail.
Along the way the reader gets an education about, and keen insights into the medicine and science of vaccine development throughout history. We also learn the business and ethical challenges of creating, testing and deploying new ways to protect humanity from the deadly COVID virus.
Make no mistake, this is not a breezy, quick read. Everything about this story is complex and complicated, from the science of how the new messenger RNA vaccines work, to the flaws and eccentricities of the venture capitalists who played vital roles in fast-tracking a new kind of vaccine into a lifesaving commercial product.
But as we are learning all too clearly, in our skeptical modern times developing a cure is not enough. Gaining universal understanding of the science of vaccines, and universal acceptance, is proving perhaps as great a barrier to ultimately defeating COVID 19. This book goes a long way toward bringing the understanding so desperately needed to bring clarity and enlightenment to the task.
February 12, 2022
This book is incredibly well-researched and full of a massive amount of information. It does get quite dry but that's not a criticism on the author. It's just the nature of the book and the reader needing to understand a lot of scientific terms. Despite this, the author does a great job of making these concepts understandable for the non-scientist.
January 8, 2022
Longshot should be on your reading shortlist! This complex tale skillfully weaves together numerous story threads of many salient histories--vaccine/inoculation, science/technology, ethics/integrity, failure/persistence, and remarkable people doing the right thing at the right time. This excellent read gives us a glimpse into the minds and lives of the many dedicated and determined scientists at the forefront of Covid-19 vaccine development.
February 15, 2022
I don’t read a lot of non fiction books, but this was the book we choose for the brand new book club I am part of. I am really glad I decided to read it. It was full of information that I think anyone who still has doubts about the mRNA vaccine should have. I was surprised at how long they have actually been working on mRNA, and what it means for the future of medicine.
May 23, 2022
I received this book for free as part of a Goodreads Giveaway. My thanks to the publisher, Center Street.
This was a disappointing read. It's unfocused, dry and not very engaging. On the positive side, I did learn some new information and parts of the book were eye-opening into the scientific process of creating vaccines.
While you might initially think this book would be a history of the COVID-19 Vaccine that's actually not quite right. This book is more of a mix of the history of vaccination, Moderna's founding, and the unfortunate politics involved in science. In fact, the creation of the COVID-19 Vaccine is covered very quickly and the book is more focused on the decades of science and the various discoveries by various scientists that lead up to that vaccine.
I struggled through this book and was often disgusted at the profiteering of those involved in the business aspect of the scientific community. I would say this book made me less trustful of the medical community and certainly of Moderna. That's not to say that I distrust the scientists who are dedicated, smart and clearly interested in bettering the world. There's a few scientists in here who are inspiring and give me hope for the process of science. Additionally, the discovery of using MRNA to deliver the protein instructions to fight various diseases through vaccination does seem to be a major accomplishment in the history of Medicine. However to read how someone with no involvement in the actual science like Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, has his company slap as many patents on every combination of MRNA they can find to get money disgusts me.
With that aside, this book struggles to be an engaging narrative and seems kind of scattershot. We start with the COVID-19, move onto the history of vaccination, go to the founding of Moderna, then back to vaccination history, and then we finally cover the COVID-19 Pandemic in 1 chapter and an epilogue. All of these parts are full of depressing factoids and reasons to be depressed, and occasionally optimistic, about the history and current state of science. As far as nonfiction goes, it's very well researched but this book was just kind of boring. There is lots of mentions of names which you'll have to memorize as there are a handful that appear regularly I struggled often to remember who is who. I found myself struggling to care about a lot of the information which was disappointing since this sounded like it would be such an interesting book.
In the end, I didn't enjoy this but I'm rating it a bit higher because I at least learned something. If you give this one a try then hopefully it works better for you. 2.5/5
This was a disappointing read. It's unfocused, dry and not very engaging. On the positive side, I did learn some new information and parts of the book were eye-opening into the scientific process of creating vaccines.
While you might initially think this book would be a history of the COVID-19 Vaccine that's actually not quite right. This book is more of a mix of the history of vaccination, Moderna's founding, and the unfortunate politics involved in science. In fact, the creation of the COVID-19 Vaccine is covered very quickly and the book is more focused on the decades of science and the various discoveries by various scientists that lead up to that vaccine.
I struggled through this book and was often disgusted at the profiteering of those involved in the business aspect of the scientific community. I would say this book made me less trustful of the medical community and certainly of Moderna. That's not to say that I distrust the scientists who are dedicated, smart and clearly interested in bettering the world. There's a few scientists in here who are inspiring and give me hope for the process of science. Additionally, the discovery of using MRNA to deliver the protein instructions to fight various diseases through vaccination does seem to be a major accomplishment in the history of Medicine. However to read how someone with no involvement in the actual science like Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, has his company slap as many patents on every combination of MRNA they can find to get money disgusts me.
With that aside, this book struggles to be an engaging narrative and seems kind of scattershot. We start with the COVID-19, move onto the history of vaccination, go to the founding of Moderna, then back to vaccination history, and then we finally cover the COVID-19 Pandemic in 1 chapter and an epilogue. All of these parts are full of depressing factoids and reasons to be depressed, and occasionally optimistic, about the history and current state of science. As far as nonfiction goes, it's very well researched but this book was just kind of boring. There is lots of mentions of names which you'll have to memorize as there are a handful that appear regularly I struggled often to remember who is who. I found myself struggling to care about a lot of the information which was disappointing since this sounded like it would be such an interesting book.
In the end, I didn't enjoy this but I'm rating it a bit higher because I at least learned something. If you give this one a try then hopefully it works better for you. 2.5/5
May 28, 2022
I seemed to have developed a fascination with books about the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of the vaccines to prevent it, as this is the third book on the subject that I have read in the last several months. (The other two are The Premonition: A Pandemic Story and The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine.)
This book focuses on the scientific research that led to the COVID-19 vaccines. Heath provides a history of vaccines, and highlights successful (smallpox and polio vaccines) and unsuccessful (RSV and AIDS) attempts. Heath also documents the research that led to the discovery of a new use for messenger RNA (mRNA), which was crucial to the fast process that brought the COVID-19 vaccines to the public.
Heath writes in a clear, not-too-technical style, which made much of the scientific material understandable. I found most of the book interesting, but I was surprised that only one brief chapter dealt with the events of 2020 that led to the COVID vaccines. Overall, this book was worth my time, but I would recommend the two books I listed above before I would recommend this one.
One final note: This book was riddled with typos. It was obvious that the only proofreading of the text was done by spell check. Truly an embarrassment to both the author and the publisher.
This book focuses on the scientific research that led to the COVID-19 vaccines. Heath provides a history of vaccines, and highlights successful (smallpox and polio vaccines) and unsuccessful (RSV and AIDS) attempts. Heath also documents the research that led to the discovery of a new use for messenger RNA (mRNA), which was crucial to the fast process that brought the COVID-19 vaccines to the public.
Heath writes in a clear, not-too-technical style, which made much of the scientific material understandable. I found most of the book interesting, but I was surprised that only one brief chapter dealt with the events of 2020 that led to the COVID vaccines. Overall, this book was worth my time, but I would recommend the two books I listed above before I would recommend this one.
One final note: This book was riddled with typos. It was obvious that the only proofreading of the text was done by spell check. Truly an embarrassment to both the author and the publisher.
April 1, 2022
I found the information in this book to be super interesting, and very investing, but *man* did I have some major problems with how it was written. I’m sure this book was written at Warp Speed (eh, see what I did there?) in order to keep it relevant to the current timeline, but it needed like two or three more rounds of editing. There were several type mistakes, a lot of rambling without a tied-up-connection as to why we were rambling, and an innumerate amount of repetitive anecdotal details. My theory is that the author wrote each chapter separately at different times in his life and then connected them via a few transition sentences during the final editing phase. This isn’t bad, but it means that there are so many anecdotes that he repeats and describes in full detail *again*, even though he just explained that anecdote a few pages ago, albeit in a different chapter. It was mildly infuriating, enough so that I often found myself yelling out loud at the book or rolling my eyes. But I did stay engaged the entire read, and I enjoyed the quickness of the story. The book gives ample time to explore the petty drama that academic science is rife with, which is fun and funny, but keeps the story moving forward. A quick, interesting read about a relevant topic. 3.75/5
January 10, 2024
This is the beginning of a quad-ology that I am creating about 1) mRNA technology/Moderna, 2) Vaccine - Pfizer/Biontech's journey 3) Uncontrollable Spread by Gottleib- the gov't's and manufacturing response and 4)Deborah Birx's book, "Silent Invasion" - giving her interpretation of what happened (expecting similar quotes like in Donna Brazille's book, "Hacks ": "Before I called Bernie I lit a candle in my living room and put on some gospel music. I wanted to center myself for what I knew would be an emotional phone call....").
This first book gives the reader a good overview of the NIH, players involved in various Coronaviruses, Moderna, and the technology of mRNA. The chapters read like essays, and there is some repetition (good reminders for me) now and then. Footnotes could have been tighter. No bibliography.
It read fast and easy if one has an interest in this subject.
Next up-The Vaccine- written by the founders of BioNTech.
This first book gives the reader a good overview of the NIH, players involved in various Coronaviruses, Moderna, and the technology of mRNA. The chapters read like essays, and there is some repetition (good reminders for me) now and then. Footnotes could have been tighter. No bibliography.
It read fast and easy if one has an interest in this subject.
Next up-The Vaccine- written by the founders of BioNTech.
May 2, 2022
"For the first time in vaccine history, science didn't win. This time, so many people have rejected the science, that the virus is still winning...There had been so much hope early on, that the art of persuasion would be enough to inoculate enough people, but now that no longer seems plausible."
"Overall as a world, I'm not sure we are doing much better than we did in 1918."
If you're interested in the nitty-gritty of mRNA research, then look no further. If you're not scientifically oriented or only interested in learning about race for the vaccine starting from when the SARS-cov-2 virus genome was first sequenced, I would pick this up and only read through last few chapters and epilogue.
"Overall as a world, I'm not sure we are doing much better than we did in 1918."
If you're interested in the nitty-gritty of mRNA research, then look no further. If you're not scientifically oriented or only interested in learning about race for the vaccine starting from when the SARS-cov-2 virus genome was first sequenced, I would pick this up and only read through last few chapters and epilogue.
June 1, 2022
I’m not one to typically critique or even notice the overall structure of a book, but with this one, it was glaringly obvious. There were several grammatical errors, but the writing style made it a bit hard to follow. He would frequently repeat things he already mentioned as though he hadn’t, start a storyline, drop it, and pick up another. There were so many names, and it became hard to remember who was who. You can tell it was a bit rushed through publishing.
However, I clearly gave it four stars. I am coming away so grateful to have the knowledge I learned from this book. If you can get through the scientific jargon, which in the middle of the book gets pretty heavy, this book provides incredible insight to the science of vaccines and the timeline behind the scenes as Covid emerged.
However, I clearly gave it four stars. I am coming away so grateful to have the knowledge I learned from this book. If you can get through the scientific jargon, which in the middle of the book gets pretty heavy, this book provides incredible insight to the science of vaccines and the timeline behind the scenes as Covid emerged.
January 15, 2022
David Heath's superlative reporting expertise really shines in book form. He shows us the disparate threads of scientific research - the politics and personalities, successes and setbacks, perseverance and investment - and explains how years of work in different places, by different scientists, on different diseases converged in the right moment to produce a highly effective COVID vaccine in record time. As a reader with no scientific or public health expertise, I found the book intelligent and easy to understand. A must read for anyone who is eager to become better informed about this issue, for COVID and for viruses yet to emerge.
Read
February 7, 20221) The book started to get juicy for me around chapter 7.
2) The explanations and descriptions of the scientific concepts are inconsistent - some feel directly copy/pasted across chapters, and other times there is description for something that feels fairly familiar from high school biology, but other times there wasn’t explanation for a scientific concept that I wanted to know more about…
3) The last chapter of this book made the whole book worth it for me. One of the most gripping, captivating things I have read in a while - what a rush. I had this book checked out via Libby on my phone, and I brought the phone up closer to my face to get the last chapter into my eyes faster lol 😂
2) The explanations and descriptions of the scientific concepts are inconsistent - some feel directly copy/pasted across chapters, and other times there is description for something that feels fairly familiar from high school biology, but other times there wasn’t explanation for a scientific concept that I wanted to know more about…
3) The last chapter of this book made the whole book worth it for me. One of the most gripping, captivating things I have read in a while - what a rush. I had this book checked out via Libby on my phone, and I brought the phone up closer to my face to get the last chapter into my eyes faster lol 😂
April 5, 2022
This book shines when it explains the politics, news and legal issues surrounding the development of the mRNA Covid vaccine. For several chapters, however, it was hard for me to understand the author’s narration of the scientific developments required to create the vaccine. For someone with a scientific background, this book would probably be a five star review — that however is not me.
I should add that sections of this book were difficult to read, and even quite upsetting, particularly about historic human vaccine trials.
I should add that sections of this book were difficult to read, and even quite upsetting, particularly about historic human vaccine trials.
January 14, 2022
Everyone should read this book. Covid-19 has had an effect on every one of us and disrupted our lives. This book details the origins of the successful vaccines and the scientists who worked on them. It reveals that events set up just so in order to get the vaccinations into people's arms at warp speed. It should also alleviate doubts from those who worried about how fast the vaccine came out. Excellent read.
January 18, 2022
This is an insider's look at how the COVID-19 vaccines were developed. Written by an investigative journalist (and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist), author David Heath explores how a small group of talented scientists spent years coming up with the vaccines we have today. This is well-researched, thorough and a great history of vaccines and pandemics, past and present -- along with a look into the future.
March 27, 2022
This book gives clear insight into a world unknown - rough and tumble world of biological chemistry products. The interplay of scientists, academic institutions, venture capitalists has all contriubuted to the fastest developed vaccine ever. David Heath has shown that it was the result of genius, financial greed, courage, money and passion all at the same time. Maybe a Devine Comedy of sorts but with a Hollywood ending.
May 17, 2022
The gist of this book is that even though most of us just heard of mRNA vaccines with the onset of the recent pandemic, this technology has been several decades in the making, and had quite a bit to do with the founding of the corporation known as Moderna. Although vaccines are an amazing technology and LITERAL LIFESAVERS, this book also mentions that things can go wrong when horrid socioeconomic conditions are in play, such as the tragic RSV vaccine trial of the 1960s.
March 26, 2023
This well written book explores the science behind modified RNA vaccines. Instead of focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, this book traces the lengthy history of vaccine research in the United States. I learned a lot about the controversial origins of the Moderna company. I enjoyed reading about the renegade scientists who discovered how to use modified RNA when everyone else was studying DNA based vaccines.
October 1, 2025
This book is so relevant and a must read for anyone who questions the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. I learned so much from reading this book about vaccine development to include the Covid vaccine. I highly recommend this book and bought several copies to share with family and friends.
The author is a clean and thorough writer. His style of writing kept me enthralled throughout the book.
The author is a clean and thorough writer. His style of writing kept me enthralled throughout the book.
June 1, 2022
Never thought vaccine history would be so FASCINATING and make me laugh out loud. This is a quick read but packed with historical context and complex scientific interplays that brought us to a lightning quick COVID-19 vaccine. We are beyond lucky that the vaccine came together just in time! This book also highlights the unsung heroes of mRNA vaccines. Great read!
June 11, 2022
This was a fascinating look at the history of vaccines, and more specifically the advances that led to the incredibly fast creation of the COVID-19 vaccines. It's a shame that this information hasn't been widely spread as the quick creation of the vaccine sadly seemed to scare some people away from it.
March 16, 2022
The number of people who accomplish amazing things and are certifiable jerks is certainly depressing. Is this always the case when major innovation happens? I guess I'm glad they were there to make this world changing vaccine and save millions of lives though.
April 2, 2022
The content was good but unfortunately the writers Bias was too apparent and it severed some of the scientific credibility. A little too much drama vs facts. Like a bad news read. I love good science. I like factual information
April 4, 2022
I wish more people knew the long history behind mRNA and vaccines. There is so much confusion and misinformation about them currently. However, I did not find this book to be very well written and I found myself skimming a lot.
December 17, 2022
I was glued to this book the entire day and finished it in one sitting ( except maybe a short coffe book). A must read for all public health enthusiasts . It traces the history of how the COVID vaccine came into being and talks so much about the history and secrets of RNA.
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