The First Shots : The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine

**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 the fight against a vicious virus. __The First Shots__, soon to be the 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 intense vaccine-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 Speed’s architects, whose audacious plans for the American people run straight into the buzz saw of the Trump White House factions; to Stéphane Bancel of upstart Moderna Therapeutics going toe-to-toe with pharma behemoth Pfizer, __The First Shots__ lays bare, in a way we have not seen, the full stunning story behind the medical science “moon shot” of our lifetimes. The full inside story of the high-stakes, global race for the lifesaving vaccine to end the pandemic Heroic science. Unleashed billionaire entrepreneurs. Chaotic politics. Award-winning journalist Brendan Borrell brings the defining story of our times alive through compulsively readable, first-time reporting on the players driving the race against a vicious pandemic. The First Shots , soon to be the 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 intense vaccine-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 Speed's architects, whose audacious plans for the American people run straight into the buzz saw of White House factions; to St?phane Bancel of upstart Moderna Therapeutics going toe-to-toe with pharma behemoth Pfizer, The First Shots lays bare, in a way we have not seen, the full stunning story behind the medical science "moon shot" of our lifetimes The full inside story of the high-stakes, global race for the lifesaving vaccine to end the pandemic Heroic science. Unleashed billionaire entrepreneurs. Chaotic politics. Award-winning journalist Brendan Borrell brings the defining story of our times alive through compulsively readable, first-time reporting on the players driving the race against a vicious pandemic. The First Shots, soon to be the 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 intense vaccine-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 Speed's architects, whose audacious plans for the American people run straight into the buzz saw of White House factions; to Stéphane Bancel of upstart Moderna Therapeutics going toe-to-toe with pharma behemoth Pfizer, The First Shots lays bare, in a way we have not seen, the full stunning story behind the medical science "moon shot" of our lifetimes Front Cover 1 Front Flap 2 Front Matter 3 Half Title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Epigraph 7 Contents 9 Cast of Characters 11 Prologue 15 Part 1: Emergence, January 2020–March 2020 21 1. Sounds Like It Could Be Fun 23 2. Courage and Doubt 33 3. Not Sanctioned, Not Authorized 44 4. Our Bugs and Gas Guy 51 5. Stabilizing the Spike 62 6. Old School, New School 72 7. Oceanic Outbreak 84 8. Very Much Under Control 93 9. The President’s Powwow 100 10. This Ain’t Over 106 Part 2: Lockdown, March 2020–May 2020 117 11. A Company Is Born 119 12. Running on Empty 130 13. Masks for Everyone 136 14. The Moonshot 143 15. Return to Power 160 Part 3: Testing, May 2020–October 2020 169 16. Horse Race 171 17. Battle Rhythm 183 18. Masters of the Protocol 193 19. Three Hundred Million Doses 203 20. Plasma Drive 214 21. Trials 224 22. Tribulations 232 Part 4: Rollout, October 2020–January 2021 241 23. How Do You Know? 243 24. Winter Wave 252 25. Seniors First 262 26. The N-Hour 268 27. The Brave Endure 277 Back Matter 289 Afterword 289 Acknowledgments 292 Notes 295 Index 307 Back Flap 323 Back Cover 324 Spine 325 The First Shots weaves together the vaccine-race conflicts among scientists and the rivalries among Washington power players that shaped 18 months of fear, resolve, and triumph. It traces the vaccine-race from infectious disease expert Michael Callahan, an American doctor secretly on the ground in Wuhan in January 2020 to gauge Disease X; to Robert (Dr. Bob) Kadlec, one of Operation Warp Speed's architects to Stephane Bancel of Moderna Therapeutics going toe-to-toe with Pfizer.-- Source other than the Library of Congress Award-winning journalist Brendan Borrell brings the defining story of our times alive through compulsively readable, first-time reporting on the players driving the race against a vicious pandemic. Soon to be the subject of an HBO limited series, Borrelll draws on exclusive, high-level access to weave together the intense vaccine-race conflicts among hard-driving, heroic scientists and the epic rivalries among Washington power players that shaped 18 months of fear, resolve, and triumph. Print run 75,000.