367: Inside the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine with Brendan Borrell
“People say, ‘Was this a vaccine race? Is it fair to call it a race?’ Yeah, it was because the companies that got there first dominated the market.”
In early 2020, experts predicted the development of the COVID-19 vaccine would take 12 to 18 months. Fast forward to today and there are at least five vaccines approved by the World Health Organization. Joining Indre today is Brendan Borrell, a health scientist and business journalist who’s written for The Atlantic, National Geographic, Wired, and The New York Times. He also happens to be the author of a new book, The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine, and in today’s show, he discusses his book, providing valuable insights into the early days of the virus, the political football and money plays involved, and other enthralling details surrounding the race to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Brendan begins by highlighting the key themes of The First Shots, and giving an understanding of the political, social, and monetary context of the vaccine rollout. He assesses the political and business development sides influencing vaccine rollout and how the decisions by scientists and politicians impacted our society in light of the COVID vaccine. Our guest goes on to share his investigative journalistic process and how he gained access to information within the Trump administration, and then takes us into the lives of the characters in his book and the roles they play in the COVID context, and sheds light on the mRNA vaccines, contrasting them with the older method of creating vaccines. He also explores the nitty-gritties of mRNA vaccine development and genetic sequencing of a new virus, and ‘beams in’ on Operation Warp Speed and the winners and losers in the vaccine race. Brendan concludes today’s conversation by stressing the importance of preparedness and response, and giving ideas on what the government ought to be doing. As timely as it is intriguing, Brendan Borrell’s account of this unique and enormously impactful event in all our lives is definitely one that inquiring minds will not want to miss.
