A Shot to Save the World

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This account details the global effort to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, highlighting the successes and failures of major vaccines. When the pandemic emerged, many leading drug and vaccine manufacturers were slow to respond. Instead, a small group of unlikely scientists and executives stepped up: a French businessman viewed as a fanciful dreamer, a Turkish immigrant with limited virus experience, an eccentric American focused on insect cells, a Boston scientist using dubious methods, and a British researcher scorned by colleagues. These individuals raced to transform their research into life-saving vaccines within months, each vying for the breakthrough and the accompanying recognition. The author, a bestselling writer and investigative journalist, provides an inside look at the secretive labs, corporate rivalries, and high-stakes negotiations that facilitated the development and rollout of effective vaccines. This meticulously reported narrative is a gripping chronicle of one of the most significant scientific achievements of our time. It showcases not only courage, genius, and optimism but also intense rivalries, ambitious pursuits, and unexpected drama. Ultimately, it tells the remarkable story of how science triumphed in saving the world.