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Preventable: How a Pandemic Changed the World & How to Stop the Next One
The COVID-19 pandemic was not inevitable. We could have stopped it, and we still can stop the next one.
Preventable is an important and illuminating book on how politics shape our health. Drawing on the recent history of outbreaks, it examines the triggers behind global health crises and why we so often get our response to them wrong. Comparing the spread of coronavirus in various parts of the world, Professor Devi Sridhar explores why countries such the US and the UK have-against expectations-suffered losses far worse than their poorer neighbours, and how the memory of other recent outbreaks led to very different outcomes in South Korea and West Africa.
Combining science, politics, ethics and economics, it is a dazzling dissection of the global structures that determine our fate, and the deep-seated economic and social inequalities at their heart. Highlighting lessons learned from past and present, Sridhar sets out a vision for how we can better protect ourselves from the inevitable health crises to come. It is an urgent book that will challenge, outrage and inspire.
Preventable is an important and illuminating book on how politics shape our health. Drawing on the recent history of outbreaks, it examines the triggers behind global health crises and why we so often get our response to them wrong. Comparing the spread of coronavirus in various parts of the world, Professor Devi Sridhar explores why countries such the US and the UK have-against expectations-suffered losses far worse than their poorer neighbours, and how the memory of other recent outbreaks led to very different outcomes in South Korea and West Africa.
Combining science, politics, ethics and economics, it is a dazzling dissection of the global structures that determine our fate, and the deep-seated economic and social inequalities at their heart. Highlighting lessons learned from past and present, Sridhar sets out a vision for how we can better protect ourselves from the inevitable health crises to come. It is an urgent book that will challenge, outrage and inspire.
432 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2022
42 people are currently reading
575 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 7, 2022
Like the other 'reviewers' I am yet to read this book, which won't be published until April, but I thought I might provide some balance by heaping some effusive praise: the best book I've never read. Prof Sridar has (probably) written an insightful, compelling narrative of the COVID-19 pandemic. She obviously has the training and expertise (unlike this book's reviewers) to be able to translate complex public health research and recommendations into language non-experts can understand. Prof Sridar has (I'm guessing) provided lessons from past pandemics to explain how we have gotten where we are, and what we can do about it moving forward. Recommended - 5 stars.
February 7, 2022
Came here to balance the karma.
Here are 5 stars for an unread book to counter the trolls.
Seriously goodreader should not be allowing reviews for unreleased books
Here are 5 stars for an unread book to counter the trolls.
Seriously goodreader should not be allowing reviews for unreleased books
May 24, 2022
I've strongly recommended this book to three people in the week since I have finished it - that's really high for any book, and especially so for dense non-fiction read I'm well aware won't appeal to most people. It's also high for a book with a very big problem: which is that it was finished in August/September before Omicron hit, but published well after. This has been addressed in a rather sad Afterward, but it does rather loom over the rest of the narrative. Despite all this, I think this is a book anyone who wants to understand what the hell happened to the world in the last two years should start with.
Refreshingly, Sridhar doesn't make this a polemical book. She has views about what measures would have been best implemented at different times, but one of her main points is that we failed in allowing a reasoned discussion of differences. She details the cost of both the spread of the virus and of lockdowns themselves. This is most upsetting around school attendance - Sridhar covers the huge impact on girls' education globally, for example, with the estimate of 11 million girls who left education altogether and have not returned.
The chapters are organised by geographically and chronologically. The early content focuses on China, then Europe and East Asia, then the global spread. Sridhar takes a deep dive into particular exemplars (Czechoslovakia, Senegal, Kerala are among the most interesting, but also NZ) to show how different responses had different results. At each point, she details different points of view, conclusions and where evidence is debated.
The narrative is clinical, but emotions occasionally peak through. Sridhar is angry at Downing Street, covering meticulously how disastrous their early assumptions were. She is deeply worried by China's government, whose early responses could have led to a very different global picture as she shows it. She is disappointed in the absence of global cooperation - which could not only have mediated the impact on the most vulnerable but was also our main chance of actual eradication of the disease. Much of the narrative is driven by the dynamics of a race - with our health services and governments trying to manage while medical researchers raced to perfect vaccines faster than the virus could mutate to bypass them. She admits in the afterwards that ultimately, Omicron - a milder strain but one infectious enough to run rampant in a vaccination population - arrived before the world was vaccinated, ultimately ensuring we will be living with Covid for some time. It is a defeated end - mediated yes, by the fact that our vaccinations have drastically lowered deaths, long term complications and health system impacts - but still one looking at terrible economic, social and health losses, and immense numbers of deaths. She also warns that this will happen again - that our global society, and the destruction of natural habitats for animals, means repeated new infections.
A friend, hearing a radio segment about the book which debated whether the title was true or whether "we are all ultimately virus food" asked me if I was pessimistic. I realised I didn't know which is the pessimistic viewpoint - that this pandemic was preventable but our systems, structures and biases meant we couldn't prevent such a bad outcome, or the "virus food" one. I think in the end, the latter is more comforting and the former more true.
Ultimately, Sridhar however is focused and concrete. She suggests, for example, that we can't trust our nation-states to act outside of their own domestic political situations. So she advocates strongly for building vaccine and research facilities in Africa and other regions currently without them. Rather than a failed shared vaccine solution, she argues the capacity to produce and vaccinate their own populations must be stood up. Modelling - which she regards as a major failure during the pandemic - must acknowledge that race and poverty are major indicators of health risk - not just health conditions (and that health workers are largely drawn from highly vulnerable populations). We need diversity in our leadership, and governments can't rely on mathematical models without advisory panels which embody that diversity. And finally, the impacts of any measures are vastly different between elites and the rest. If we don't face our problems square on, then we will indeed, be virus food.
Refreshingly, Sridhar doesn't make this a polemical book. She has views about what measures would have been best implemented at different times, but one of her main points is that we failed in allowing a reasoned discussion of differences. She details the cost of both the spread of the virus and of lockdowns themselves. This is most upsetting around school attendance - Sridhar covers the huge impact on girls' education globally, for example, with the estimate of 11 million girls who left education altogether and have not returned.
The chapters are organised by geographically and chronologically. The early content focuses on China, then Europe and East Asia, then the global spread. Sridhar takes a deep dive into particular exemplars (Czechoslovakia, Senegal, Kerala are among the most interesting, but also NZ) to show how different responses had different results. At each point, she details different points of view, conclusions and where evidence is debated.
The narrative is clinical, but emotions occasionally peak through. Sridhar is angry at Downing Street, covering meticulously how disastrous their early assumptions were. She is deeply worried by China's government, whose early responses could have led to a very different global picture as she shows it. She is disappointed in the absence of global cooperation - which could not only have mediated the impact on the most vulnerable but was also our main chance of actual eradication of the disease. Much of the narrative is driven by the dynamics of a race - with our health services and governments trying to manage while medical researchers raced to perfect vaccines faster than the virus could mutate to bypass them. She admits in the afterwards that ultimately, Omicron - a milder strain but one infectious enough to run rampant in a vaccination population - arrived before the world was vaccinated, ultimately ensuring we will be living with Covid for some time. It is a defeated end - mediated yes, by the fact that our vaccinations have drastically lowered deaths, long term complications and health system impacts - but still one looking at terrible economic, social and health losses, and immense numbers of deaths. She also warns that this will happen again - that our global society, and the destruction of natural habitats for animals, means repeated new infections.
A friend, hearing a radio segment about the book which debated whether the title was true or whether "we are all ultimately virus food" asked me if I was pessimistic. I realised I didn't know which is the pessimistic viewpoint - that this pandemic was preventable but our systems, structures and biases meant we couldn't prevent such a bad outcome, or the "virus food" one. I think in the end, the latter is more comforting and the former more true.
Ultimately, Sridhar however is focused and concrete. She suggests, for example, that we can't trust our nation-states to act outside of their own domestic political situations. So she advocates strongly for building vaccine and research facilities in Africa and other regions currently without them. Rather than a failed shared vaccine solution, she argues the capacity to produce and vaccinate their own populations must be stood up. Modelling - which she regards as a major failure during the pandemic - must acknowledge that race and poverty are major indicators of health risk - not just health conditions (and that health workers are largely drawn from highly vulnerable populations). We need diversity in our leadership, and governments can't rely on mathematical models without advisory panels which embody that diversity. And finally, the impacts of any measures are vastly different between elites and the rest. If we don't face our problems square on, then we will indeed, be virus food.
April 26, 2022
Strangely it seems I am alone in actually having read this book prior to making a review. It puts some strong evidence for both sides of the argument on how covid was managed and is though-provoking. For me the aim of a good book should be to ask you to think, so it works for me.
September 10, 2022
Memory is a funny thing, isn't it? COVID is still so recent, so fresh and (most concerningly) possibly not over. And yet reading again about the early days of 2020 reminded me how different things are now and just exactly what it was that we went through.
Shridhar takes on a vast and complex subject matter with enormous confidence. Some of the chapters were interesting from a scientific point of view. These were facts and processes that I didn't know and it was fascinating to learn about them. There is such a wealth of information that I imagine she could have written a while series of books. I very much admire the way she examined and contrasted competing theories and took the honest but difficult step of admitting time and time again that there is no 'one' right answer. It was a welcome tonic after being subject to the ridiculous bawling of the British gutter press and the infantilisation peddled by our politicians.
The book pulls no punches. Shridhar lays down in black and white how political decisions cost lives and economies. This is not always easy to read, but this is by no means a hopeless book. Every chapter is infused with reasonable, workable solutions to the problems we faced.
At times this book is very dense. Even with my background in primary care nursing and public health there are some very big and complex ideas, but Shridhar never assumes the reader won't understand them and explains them well. This is one of the books greatest strengths. The other is the clear eyed view it takes. We have been in the middle of this thing for so long it takes an act of will to stand back, to try to understand. This book helped me do that.
Shridhar takes on a vast and complex subject matter with enormous confidence. Some of the chapters were interesting from a scientific point of view. These were facts and processes that I didn't know and it was fascinating to learn about them. There is such a wealth of information that I imagine she could have written a while series of books. I very much admire the way she examined and contrasted competing theories and took the honest but difficult step of admitting time and time again that there is no 'one' right answer. It was a welcome tonic after being subject to the ridiculous bawling of the British gutter press and the infantilisation peddled by our politicians.
The book pulls no punches. Shridhar lays down in black and white how political decisions cost lives and economies. This is not always easy to read, but this is by no means a hopeless book. Every chapter is infused with reasonable, workable solutions to the problems we faced.
At times this book is very dense. Even with my background in primary care nursing and public health there are some very big and complex ideas, but Shridhar never assumes the reader won't understand them and explains them well. This is one of the books greatest strengths. The other is the clear eyed view it takes. We have been in the middle of this thing for so long it takes an act of will to stand back, to try to understand. This book helped me do that.
July 17, 2022
This book is an excellent overview of the Covid pandemic written by a scientist who was involved first hand in the communications to the public. She manages to convey the key concepts in layman’s language. She focuses not only on the direct consequences of the pandemic (hospitalisations, deaths, etc..) but also the indirect ones such as the economic impact of lockdowns.
She discusses also the various strategies that countries have pursued in fighting Covid as increasing data became available and takes this opportunity to point out how much scientists were vilified by politicians and others when speaking out against the party line (e.g Donald Trump) and the consequences of a lack of proper leadership contrasting in particular a superficial Boris Johnson vs a hands-on Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland or Jacinda Arden in New Zealand.
The book while definitely worth reading to be better prepared for the next pandemic is however a bit dry despite a few attempts to instill some humour in the narrative (e.g will we have a loyalty card for boosters with a free coffee for the 7th booster jab?) hence 4 stars instead of 5 that the content deserves.
She discusses also the various strategies that countries have pursued in fighting Covid as increasing data became available and takes this opportunity to point out how much scientists were vilified by politicians and others when speaking out against the party line (e.g Donald Trump) and the consequences of a lack of proper leadership contrasting in particular a superficial Boris Johnson vs a hands-on Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland or Jacinda Arden in New Zealand.
The book while definitely worth reading to be better prepared for the next pandemic is however a bit dry despite a few attempts to instill some humour in the narrative (e.g will we have a loyalty card for boosters with a free coffee for the 7th booster jab?) hence 4 stars instead of 5 that the content deserves.
October 17, 2022
An easy to read personal account of the varied realities of those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Devi Sridhar is both professor and chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. As such she has great experience researching and tracking global health outbreaks working with the World Health Organisation. During the pandemic she was an advisor to the Scottish Government and was frequently called upon to give her opinion to the media. This is a very factual, intelligently written book (with over 70 pages of references) which vibrantly conveys the twists and turns of the first year of the pandemic highlighting lessons we should have learnt and questioning why governments didn't always follow the evidence. It is in parts challenging but uplifting to hear how the world's scientists worked tirelessly together to deliver the first vaccines.
February 8, 2022
I'm sure this will be well worth reading when it is released hence the 5* rating.
In the meantime ignore the troll reviewers that haven't read it.
@goodreads - why are you allowing unverified reviews prior to publication?
In the meantime ignore the troll reviewers that haven't read it.
@goodreads - why are you allowing unverified reviews prior to publication?
April 14, 2024
This is an authoritative account of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and its management in its first year. Wide ranging, logically ordered with clear expert insight, this makes a good read of such seismic events.
The prose is scientific yet accessible and the complex medical or statistical concepts are well explained so that the book is suitable for the scientist or the lay person.
I get there is a pressure to get a book like this out as soon as possible but would love to see some more long term trends and analysis, especially concerning next steps in pandemic management.
I would like to hear more about what Prof Sridhar has to say 4-5 years out from 2020. Maybe a good time for a follow up!
The prose is scientific yet accessible and the complex medical or statistical concepts are well explained so that the book is suitable for the scientist or the lay person.
I get there is a pressure to get a book like this out as soon as possible but would love to see some more long term trends and analysis, especially concerning next steps in pandemic management.
I would like to hear more about what Prof Sridhar has to say 4-5 years out from 2020. Maybe a good time for a follow up!
January 16, 2024
Excellent overview of the various stages and options as the pandemic progressed. The main body of the book ends before Omicron hit which is somewhat bitter sweet. It felt more balanced than I maybe was expecting and there was information that I wasn’t previously aware of that gives me hope. Having said all this it was not an easy read in terms of the reminders of what living through the pandemic was like - even within a wealthy country with significant privileges.
June 11, 2022
A very well written, well informed, well researched book covering most aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic from its beginnings to the release of the book in late 2021.
Although I kept abreast of most scientific research during the pandemic I still found this book very insightful. It gives an overview which I would have otherwise not have had. It also allowed me to decompress, to see my own struggles during lockdown from a global perspective, to feel vindicated in my beliefs and actions.
I am so glad I read this book, even after seeing it was endorsed by P**rs M*rg*n.
That being said I did feel that the author had a few top many pops at Boris johnson, I think the man is a wally who deserves a slow and painful death (political or literal) for what he has subjected the UK to for the last 3 yearsbut at times it felt like this book was written purely to troll him.
Apart from that, thoroughly enjoyable.
Although I kept abreast of most scientific research during the pandemic I still found this book very insightful. It gives an overview which I would have otherwise not have had. It also allowed me to decompress, to see my own struggles during lockdown from a global perspective, to feel vindicated in my beliefs and actions.
I am so glad I read this book, even after seeing it was endorsed by P**rs M*rg*n.
That being said I did feel that the author had a few top many pops at Boris johnson, I think the man is a wally who deserves a slow and painful death (political or literal) for what he has subjected the UK to for the last 3 yearsbut at times it felt like this book was written purely to troll him.
Apart from that, thoroughly enjoyable.
August 23, 2022
In Singapore, we learnt from SARS (2003) and birdlfu (2009), which is why we could adapt so quickly. Covid-19 has lasted so much longer and likewise there is so much more to learn. Devi Sridar has provided the means to improve to combat the next pandemic with fewer mistakes.
This should be a book all college students study in their first year, as it is highly accessible, examines multiple perspectives and disciplines, and is well researched (she had two RAs backing her up), all done as only a public health scientist would.
This is an invaluable book and I highly recommend it to anyone. We all loved through this and will appreciate the holistic perspective. Watch her prelaunch videos too. I see why she “gets into trouble”!
This was a Kindle ebook. Because I’ll read it again. Meanwhile I hope Devi gets to see more otters!
This should be a book all college students study in their first year, as it is highly accessible, examines multiple perspectives and disciplines, and is well researched (she had two RAs backing her up), all done as only a public health scientist would.
This is an invaluable book and I highly recommend it to anyone. We all loved through this and will appreciate the holistic perspective. Watch her prelaunch videos too. I see why she “gets into trouble”!
This was a Kindle ebook. Because I’ll read it again. Meanwhile I hope Devi gets to see more otters!
August 30, 2022
Brilliant comparative study of governance in different countries and how they responded to the pandemic, with the pros and cons of each approach and what they could have done differently, also how we can be better prepared for the next pandemic.
As a public health student, this book is a fantastic reference to me, particularly for my dissertation topic which is a comparative analysis between the UK and New Zealand, and how leadership in governing bodies influenced adherence to rules and uptake of vaccinations in the Covid-19 pandemic. Thoroughly recommend for public/global health students!
As a public health student, this book is a fantastic reference to me, particularly for my dissertation topic which is a comparative analysis between the UK and New Zealand, and how leadership in governing bodies influenced adherence to rules and uptake of vaccinations in the Covid-19 pandemic. Thoroughly recommend for public/global health students!
September 20, 2023
[Preventable - Devi Sridhar]
Rating: 4.69/5.00
"Alright. I surprisingly enjoy reading all the eleven chapters that this book has to offer. Preventable does a great job in outlining and providing details about numerous aspects of this worldwide pandemic from its origin to the people's reaction to it. It is refreshing to learn different perspectives and angles of how various stakeholders view, handle, and alleviate this global issue. All in all, it is a well-written book!"
#Preventable #DeviSridhar #Nonfiction #Pandemic
Rating: 4.69/5.00
"Alright. I surprisingly enjoy reading all the eleven chapters that this book has to offer. Preventable does a great job in outlining and providing details about numerous aspects of this worldwide pandemic from its origin to the people's reaction to it. It is refreshing to learn different perspectives and angles of how various stakeholders view, handle, and alleviate this global issue. All in all, it is a well-written book!"
#Preventable #DeviSridhar #Nonfiction #Pandemic
October 30, 2023
An eloquent, penetrating account of the height of the pandemic, which I found to be both informative and thought-provoking. I was expecting some invective, but was surprised by the measured tone throughout. This book gave me the informed behind-the-scenes view which I sought. It is depressing that an account from 2021 is still hugely up-to-date in late 2023, which implies lack of progress in understanding why and how things went wrong, and what needs to be done in future to avoid such widespread human suffering and excessive deaths.
November 28, 2023
A really good summary of COVID-19 from a global perspective, during its first 18 months. Not afraid to call out what went wrong, and to point to ways things could be done better the next time. It needed a bit more copyediting (e.g., too many forward/backward references to chapters), and it would have been nice to have a perspective from later on in the pandemic, but both of those seem inevitable given the time it was published. Would recommend reading.
May 16, 2023
This book is brilliant, but such a slap in the face. It confirms my belief that the UK government persistently and intentionally mismanages critical situations. I’m grateful that the author shared her expertise, and am pleased to have read this well-written book.
February 8, 2022
Not read it as it’s not out yet but balancing out the trolls.
April 26, 2022
Interesting insight from a specialist into the way the c19 pandemic was handled in the UK
May 21, 2022
Very important book .. objective story of covid and different countries responses to it ! Very proscriptive re what we must do when the next pandemic comes, which it will ! She writes very well
Read
May 31, 2022A clear and authoritative account of the Covid-19 epidemic by a knowledgeable author who was at the centre of things. Can't recommend too highly.
September 8, 2025
The pandemic is already becoming a receding memory. Back in 2020 when it hit New Zealand and I read about how the pandemic was expanding around the world, with no medical solutions in sight, I often wondered, what was nature's end game here?
In New Zealand, the resolute response from our Govt., the daily afternoon briefings by the Prime Minister, the communication campaign that mustered the whole country behind her, was encouraging. I still carry these vividly in my mind.
When vaccines showed up early 2021, the strategy pivoted. Science had found a solution to get humanity over the crisis. The end-game looked feasible. New Zealand's handling of the pandemic was lauded across the world.
And yet, the lockdowns and vaccination also unfortunately brought out the fissures in our society. The disbelievers in the vaccines and a cascade of mis-information hit the media. To the point where even when the Covid was behind us, the economy and borders open again, political extremism continued against the then government. Complaints about how much money had been spent fighting the Covid. How the economy had suffered. And death threats against the ministers who had led the response. I was flabbergasted.
It has been said that hindsight is perfect vision. It has therefore been a pleasure to get that perfect vision in this book - a remarkable blow-by-blow account of what happened from the start to almost-the end of the pandemic; how the science responded to defend humanity and how the politics among countries and governments made it worse. Well researched, well written and candid, written by a public health expert who had a front row seat. All those who complain about mismanagement of the pandemic response in New Zealand, please read this with an open mind. Here are a few key takeaways.
- The nature of the disease was continuously evolving, making it extremely difficult even for scientists to stay ahead of the curve - e.g. asymptomatic transmission risk.
- Science worked feverishly and collaboratively to find a solution, a vaccine, testing kits and protective methods, and advising on preventive steps needed. Yet there was backlash against scientists and their role in public policy in many countries of the world. The ones who failed people were political leaders especially those in rich countries with sophisticated health systems (like the US and UK).
- People forget that understanding the nature of this beast as it evolved defied immediate and tested solutions. WHO guidance was regularly updated as new evidence showed up. Some countries listened and quickly adopted. e.g. South Korea, New Zealand, Senegal and even China are reported to be ones who managed the pandemic very well. Others were not paying attention at all, at great cost - US, UK, Italy.
- Herd immunity experiment was tried (UK and Sweden) on an untested premise, and abandoned when it hit mortality and health care capacity constraints.
- Lockdowns have often been criticised as an expensive remedy - yet absence of this measure is what led to the tsunami in the spread of this disease in Italy and Europe.
- The economic cost of lockdowns is often reported as a major pain point. Most countries have experienced economic pain as they struggled to mitigate the pandemic. But evidence has shown that sacrificing public health for short term economic gains is a wrong strategy.
A very good read, strongly recommend this.
In New Zealand, the resolute response from our Govt., the daily afternoon briefings by the Prime Minister, the communication campaign that mustered the whole country behind her, was encouraging. I still carry these vividly in my mind.
When vaccines showed up early 2021, the strategy pivoted. Science had found a solution to get humanity over the crisis. The end-game looked feasible. New Zealand's handling of the pandemic was lauded across the world.
And yet, the lockdowns and vaccination also unfortunately brought out the fissures in our society. The disbelievers in the vaccines and a cascade of mis-information hit the media. To the point where even when the Covid was behind us, the economy and borders open again, political extremism continued against the then government. Complaints about how much money had been spent fighting the Covid. How the economy had suffered. And death threats against the ministers who had led the response. I was flabbergasted.
It has been said that hindsight is perfect vision. It has therefore been a pleasure to get that perfect vision in this book - a remarkable blow-by-blow account of what happened from the start to almost-the end of the pandemic; how the science responded to defend humanity and how the politics among countries and governments made it worse. Well researched, well written and candid, written by a public health expert who had a front row seat. All those who complain about mismanagement of the pandemic response in New Zealand, please read this with an open mind. Here are a few key takeaways.
- The nature of the disease was continuously evolving, making it extremely difficult even for scientists to stay ahead of the curve - e.g. asymptomatic transmission risk.
- Science worked feverishly and collaboratively to find a solution, a vaccine, testing kits and protective methods, and advising on preventive steps needed. Yet there was backlash against scientists and their role in public policy in many countries of the world. The ones who failed people were political leaders especially those in rich countries with sophisticated health systems (like the US and UK).
- People forget that understanding the nature of this beast as it evolved defied immediate and tested solutions. WHO guidance was regularly updated as new evidence showed up. Some countries listened and quickly adopted. e.g. South Korea, New Zealand, Senegal and even China are reported to be ones who managed the pandemic very well. Others were not paying attention at all, at great cost - US, UK, Italy.
- Herd immunity experiment was tried (UK and Sweden) on an untested premise, and abandoned when it hit mortality and health care capacity constraints.
- Lockdowns have often been criticised as an expensive remedy - yet absence of this measure is what led to the tsunami in the spread of this disease in Italy and Europe.
- The economic cost of lockdowns is often reported as a major pain point. Most countries have experienced economic pain as they struggled to mitigate the pandemic. But evidence has shown that sacrificing public health for short term economic gains is a wrong strategy.
A very good read, strongly recommend this.
November 16, 2024
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/preventable-how-a-pandemic-changed-the-world-how-to-stop-the-next-one-by-devi-sridhar/
A book about public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, written in late 2021 so at the point that things were dying down, though still in the heat of the moment. The author is professor of global public health in Edinburgh, and was also one of the key advisors to Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic.
The book carefully but passionately looks at the responses of many different governments to the pandemic, singling out South Korea and New Zealand for praise. She is very critical of the US and UK responses, or rather of the leadership of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, neither of whom took the crisis seriously early enough to mitigate huge damage to their respective societies. In both cases she also sees a failure to look at what other countries were doing successfully, and learn from them. She has little time for the UK’s SAGE group of experts who were, in her view, fighting the wrong war.
At the same time, she deals efficiently with the myth that the lockdowns caused more harm than good – the fact is that Sweden, which tried the lockdown-lite approach, eventually had to do the same as all other European countries. The real problem was a lack of clear strategy and failure to mobilise resources properly (oddly enough borne out by recent comments from Dominic Cummings). She also deals briefly with the ‘lab leak’ theory of the virus’s origin, noting that the DNA evidence is against it.
She also writes about the sheer nastiness of some of the media commentary and the personal attacks on her on social media. It all takes a toll, and I don’t think that the government advisers during the flu pandemic of 1919 faced the same problems.
It’s a humane and approachable book.
A book about public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, written in late 2021 so at the point that things were dying down, though still in the heat of the moment. The author is professor of global public health in Edinburgh, and was also one of the key advisors to Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic.
The book carefully but passionately looks at the responses of many different governments to the pandemic, singling out South Korea and New Zealand for praise. She is very critical of the US and UK responses, or rather of the leadership of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, neither of whom took the crisis seriously early enough to mitigate huge damage to their respective societies. In both cases she also sees a failure to look at what other countries were doing successfully, and learn from them. She has little time for the UK’s SAGE group of experts who were, in her view, fighting the wrong war.
At the same time, she deals efficiently with the myth that the lockdowns caused more harm than good – the fact is that Sweden, which tried the lockdown-lite approach, eventually had to do the same as all other European countries. The real problem was a lack of clear strategy and failure to mobilise resources properly (oddly enough borne out by recent comments from Dominic Cummings). She also deals briefly with the ‘lab leak’ theory of the virus’s origin, noting that the DNA evidence is against it.
She also writes about the sheer nastiness of some of the media commentary and the personal attacks on her on social media. It all takes a toll, and I don’t think that the government advisers during the flu pandemic of 1919 faced the same problems.
It’s a humane and approachable book.
August 13, 2022
I enjoyed this book much less than I wanted to, not sure it's because I have read quite a few on the subject and have sort of lived through much of it.
The author amasses a large amount of topics, and the logic framework cutting across them is technically very weak, and marred by poor headings. It reminds of a chit-chat session, where one moved from one topic to another (and back and forth), and the large amount of "Please read Chapter X or Y" pointers show a lack of thought into string common topics together.
I enjoyed the parts on featuring the responses of many countries such as Senegal, Austria, India etc that are not usually featured or known in the main media. Some topics such as effect on children, education should be better discussed in its own chapters. Many responses were just listed, where a holistic look across common themes would be useful. The book thus proposes less solutions on "how to stop the next one" compared to let's say Zareed Fakaria's book.
Somehow, the trap of being a scientific advisor is evident in the book, where critique and potshots are taken at almost everybody who apparently did something wrong. The truth is further from that, where healthcare workers and policy workers across the globe have been critiqued in one form or another at various stages of their country's response. Even politicians also exist across a spectrum, and their responses too across different time-frames, it's never black and white.
Many single quotes are also given as "direct" from different sources to suit the flow of the author's views, and may not paint a complete picture. It did not help that the author quite liberally name-drops where in other books it would constitute declarations of conflict of interest.
It's always easy to give advise, much less easier to be part of the solution, and slogging through years of effort to effect change.
The author amasses a large amount of topics, and the logic framework cutting across them is technically very weak, and marred by poor headings. It reminds of a chit-chat session, where one moved from one topic to another (and back and forth), and the large amount of "Please read Chapter X or Y" pointers show a lack of thought into string common topics together.
I enjoyed the parts on featuring the responses of many countries such as Senegal, Austria, India etc that are not usually featured or known in the main media. Some topics such as effect on children, education should be better discussed in its own chapters. Many responses were just listed, where a holistic look across common themes would be useful. The book thus proposes less solutions on "how to stop the next one" compared to let's say Zareed Fakaria's book.
Somehow, the trap of being a scientific advisor is evident in the book, where critique and potshots are taken at almost everybody who apparently did something wrong. The truth is further from that, where healthcare workers and policy workers across the globe have been critiqued in one form or another at various stages of their country's response. Even politicians also exist across a spectrum, and their responses too across different time-frames, it's never black and white.
Many single quotes are also given as "direct" from different sources to suit the flow of the author's views, and may not paint a complete picture. It did not help that the author quite liberally name-drops where in other books it would constitute declarations of conflict of interest.
It's always easy to give advise, much less easier to be part of the solution, and slogging through years of effort to effect change.
July 16, 2023
A comprehensive review of COVID 19 and associated policy decisions worldwide.
I did notice at least two errors with dates stating 2020 instead of 2021 (in the Kindle version), the second one I noted down was regarding the J&J vaccine, Devi states that the US called for an immediate pause in its use on the 13th April 2020, when this should be 2021.
I did notice at least two errors with dates stating 2020 instead of 2021 (in the Kindle version), the second one I noted down was regarding the J&J vaccine, Devi states that the US called for an immediate pause in its use on the 13th April 2020, when this should be 2021.
February 7, 2022
Incredible that this book was finished before this zero covid advocate made a seismic U-turn on lockdowns and restrictions. Few have spun, backpedaled and politicised the pandemic more for their own purposes than this author.
One to miss.
One to miss.
April 24, 2024
Pretty useless. Lacks any meaningful analysis. No economic perspective. Outdated at this point too.
July 17, 2025
I had been looking for a thorough account of the pandemic so I was excited for this book. Some of the book was quite interesting and I learned a lot, but I ended up being quite disappointed. Firstly, there is a lack of thoughtfulness and reflection about some of the failures of the pandemic. For example, she completely avoided any critical discussion of why it took so long for the WHO to acknowledge that COVID-19 was transmitted by aerosols.
However the most frustrating part of the book was the constant self-pity on the part of the author. The book leaves you with the impression that the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic were the public health experts, rather than the million of lives lost to COVID-19. It obviously sucks to be attacked on social media, but so many people tragically died. Some perspective is really needed.
However the most frustrating part of the book was the constant self-pity on the part of the author. The book leaves you with the impression that the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic were the public health experts, rather than the million of lives lost to COVID-19. It obviously sucks to be attacked on social media, but so many people tragically died. Some perspective is really needed.
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