The Vaccine: Inside the Race to Conquer the COVID-19 Pandemic
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- Author：Joe Miller
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Summary
* Duration: 8 hours and 45 minutes *
The dramatic story of the married scientists who founded BioNTech and developed the first vaccine against the COVID-19 pandemic。
Nobody thought it was possible。 In mid-January 2020， Ugur Sahin told Özlem Türeci， his wife and decades-long research partner， that a vaccine against what would soon be known as COVID-19 could be developed and safely injected into the arms of millions before the end of the year。 His confidence was built upon almost thirty years of research。 While working to revolutionize the way that cancerous tumors are treated， the couple had explored a volatile and overlooked molecule called messenger RNA; they believed it could be harnessed to turn the human body into its own pharmacy。 As the founders of BioNTech， they faced widespread skepticism from the scientific community at first; but by the time Sars-Cov-2 was discovered in Wuhan， BioNTech was prepared to deploy cutting edge technology and create the world’s first approved inoculation for the coronavirus。
'THE VACCINE' draws back the curtain on one of the most important medical breakthroughs of our age; it will reveal how Doctors Sahin and Türeci were able to develop twenty vaccine candidates within weeks， convince Big Pharma to support their ambitious project， navigate political interference from the Trump administration and the European Union， and manage to provide more than two billion doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to countries around the world in record time。
Written by Joe Miller - the Financial Times' Frankfurt correspondent who covered BioNTech’s COVID-19 project in real time - with contributions from Sahin and Türeci， as well as interviews with more than 50 scientists， politicians， public health officials， and BioNTech staff， the book covers key events throughout the extraordinary year， as well as exploring the scientific， economic， and personal background of each medical innovation。 Crafted to be both completely accessible to the average reader and filled with details that will fascinate seasoned microbiologists， 'THE VACCINE' explains the science behind the breakthrough， at a time when public confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy is crucial to bringing an end to this pandemic。
A Macmillan Audio production from St。 Martin's Press
©2021 Joe Miller， Özlem Türeci， Ugur Sahin （P）2021 Macmillan Audio
The dramatic story of the married scientists who founded BioNTech and developed the first vaccine against the COVID-19 pandemic。
Nobody thought it was possible。 In mid-January 2020， Ugur Sahin told Özlem Türeci， his wife and decades-long research partner， that a vaccine against what would soon be known as COVID-19 could be developed and safely injected into the arms of millions before the end of the year。 His confidence was built upon almost thirty years of research。 While working to revolutionize the way that cancerous tumors are treated， the couple had explored a volatile and overlooked molecule called messenger RNA; they believed it could be harnessed to turn the human body into its own pharmacy。 As the founders of BioNTech， they faced widespread skepticism from the scientific community at first; but by the time Sars-Cov-2 was discovered in Wuhan， BioNTech was prepared to deploy cutting edge technology and create the world’s first approved inoculation for the coronavirus。
'THE VACCINE' draws back the curtain on one of the most important medical breakthroughs of our age; it will reveal how Doctors Sahin and Türeci were able to develop twenty vaccine candidates within weeks， convince Big Pharma to support their ambitious project， navigate political interference from the Trump administration and the European Union， and manage to provide more than two billion doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to countries around the world in record time。
Written by Joe Miller - the Financial Times' Frankfurt correspondent who covered BioNTech’s COVID-19 project in real time - with contributions from Sahin and Türeci， as well as interviews with more than 50 scientists， politicians， public health officials， and BioNTech staff， the book covers key events throughout the extraordinary year， as well as exploring the scientific， economic， and personal background of each medical innovation。 Crafted to be both completely accessible to the average reader and filled with details that will fascinate seasoned microbiologists， 'THE VACCINE' explains the science behind the breakthrough， at a time when public confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy is crucial to bringing an end to this pandemic。
A Macmillan Audio production from St。 Martin's Press
©2021 Joe Miller， Özlem Türeci， Ugur Sahin （P）2021 Macmillan Audio
Reviews
Rick Elinson
，
The use of RNA as a vaccine was not only novel but also stemmed the greatest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu。 There will undoubtedly be Nobel Prizes awarded， and Miller makes a case for Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci。 Of course， a case can be made for Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman， who won this year's Lasker award， and other people， who made other key discoveries on the road to the RNA-based Covid vaccine， are named in the book。 Miller gives little information as to the prime scientific move The use of RNA as a vaccine was not only novel but also stemmed the greatest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu。 There will undoubtedly be Nobel Prizes awarded， and Miller makes a case for Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci。 Of course， a case can be made for Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman， who won this year's Lasker award， and other people， who made other key discoveries on the road to the RNA-based Covid vaccine， are named in the book。 Miller gives little information as to the prime scientific movers behind Moderna's Covid vaccine， but there must be people in that camp also。 Only three people can receive a Nobel。 Perhaps three can get the Chemistry Prize and three can get the Medicine Prize， but that's still only six。 Maybe three can get the Peace Prize， since stopping this pandemic and having generated a new approach to fight viral diseases obviously contribute to world peace。 The most enjoyable part of this book dealt with monitoring， money raising， and regulatory hurdles required to obtain a novel vaccine。 This was done in record time mainly because of the novel approach using RNA but also because of justified attempts to reduce the time required for testing。 Those time contractions seem eminently reasonable。 One was reducing the intervals between doses given to rats to test toxicity。 A second was to start Phase I testing of toxicity in humans after showing that rats did not become sick and had normal blood profiles but before the time-consuming examination of their organs。 In the excited surroundings of scientists， business people， and politicians， Sahin and Tureci were able to keep a laser focus on the science and its translation to a vaccine。The least enjoyable part of the book was Miller's attempt to explain how RNA vaccination and the immune system work。 For this， Miller repeatedly brought in a military metaphor: an army protecting the body against invaders， orders to deploy， wanted posters， sharpshooters， the Pentagon， etc。 Not only did the metaphor become tiresome， but its also made understanding more difficult。 Rather than focusing on what Miller was trying to explain， I kept focusing on how accurate his metaphors were。As a biologist， I do not know why so few books like this lack color pictures and diagrams。 Images fill biomedical articles， and some of the most prestigious journals require a graphical abstract， often a colorful cartoon， to summarize the work。 Why non-fiction writers do not take advantage of this way to reach their readers is beyond me。 。。。more
Aris
，
Absolutely incredible stuff
Meredith
，
Very interesting read about BioNTech's role in the COVID vaccine development。 Here in the US we often refer to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine just by mentioning Pfizer。 This book certainly brings to light just how much of the ground work was laid by BioNTech。 That said， it appears the writer was employed by the couple that founded BioNTech， so there indeed must be some bias there。 The book sort of glorifies the couple's role in the process， which may be justified， but at times felt a little heavy h Very interesting read about BioNTech's role in the COVID vaccine development。 Here in the US we often refer to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine just by mentioning Pfizer。 This book certainly brings to light just how much of the ground work was laid by BioNTech。 That said， it appears the writer was employed by the couple that founded BioNTech， so there indeed must be some bias there。 The book sort of glorifies the couple's role in the process， which may be justified， but at times felt a little heavy handed。 I was surprised by how much of the book focused on the business decisions that needed to be made to get the vaccine to be a reality。。。things like conversations that had to happen to secure enough manufacturing sites。 So much more than pure biology had to be done efficiently and thoughtfully。 。。。more
Vivi de
，
Fascinating story of how two married scientists created the Covid vaccine at lightening speed。
Staci
，
My work is adjacent to healthcare， so I've heard the term "BioNTech" frequently for the past few months。It was interesting to get the full story in this comprehensive walk through of the last two years。The potential of mRNAs is incredible- BioNTech is a company to watch。 Thank you to Netgalley， and the publisher， for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。 My work is adjacent to healthcare， so I've heard the term "BioNTech" frequently for the past few months。It was interesting to get the full story in this comprehensive walk through of the last two years。The potential of mRNAs is incredible- BioNTech is a company to watch。 Thank you to Netgalley， and the publisher， for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Patrick Pilz
，
Absolutely fascinating story on modern scientists at the center of the storm of a pandemic。 A couple not much unlike the Curie's from the last century。 A couple that set out to change the world of medicine and has probably saved millions of lives already。A fantastic read if you are into business biographies。 Absolutely fascinating story on modern scientists at the center of the storm of a pandemic。 A couple not much unlike the Curie's from the last century。 A couple that set out to change the world of medicine and has probably saved millions of lives already。A fantastic read if you are into business biographies。 。。。more
Aleph
，
Un’emozionante giro nei meandri dell’azienda， degli intrighi， dei finanziamenti mancati， delle gioie e dei rimpianti， ma soprattutto delle persone che hanno davvero salvato il mondo con la loro ricerca， e lo hanno fatto in Europa。 Ciò che nessuno pensava fosse possibile， loro lo hanno realizzato， battendo qualsiasi aspettativa e tempistica。Una lettura assolutamente consigliata， contenente termini scientifici quanto basta per non cadere mai nel banale o nel semplicistico， ma comunque alla portata Un’emozionante giro nei meandri dell’azienda， degli intrighi， dei finanziamenti mancati， delle gioie e dei rimpianti， ma soprattutto delle persone che hanno davvero salvato il mondo con la loro ricerca， e lo hanno fatto in Europa。 Ciò che nessuno pensava fosse possibile， loro lo hanno realizzato， battendo qualsiasi aspettativa e tempistica。Una lettura assolutamente consigliata， contenente termini scientifici quanto basta per non cadere mai nel banale o nel semplicistico， ma comunque alla portata di tutti。 。。。more
Catarina | cat literary world
，
Let me state this for starters: a lot of Science's greatest advances occurred because， against all odds， someone believed something was possible！Ugur's believe in the vaccine is admirable。 The science being is admirable: the way they've run parallel versions of the vaccine and how they tested the several candidates， the work behind， the force of the whole team， it's just mind blowing and as a woman in science I felt very inspired by this book and BioNTech's journey。I can go on and on talking abo Let me state this for starters: a lot of Science's greatest advances occurred because， against all odds， someone believed something was possible！Ugur's believe in the vaccine is admirable。 The science being is admirable: the way they've run parallel versions of the vaccine and how they tested the several candidates， the work behind， the force of the whole team， it's just mind blowing and as a woman in science I felt very inspired by this book and BioNTech's journey。I can go on and on talking about this but I don't have much to add: it's just impressive and I would totally recommend， although it may be too scientific if you're not in the area。 Nevertheless， give it a chance！！ 。。。more
Isabel
，
Grandioses Buch。 Es ist faszinierend einen Einblick hinter die Kulissen einer solch großen Errungenschaft zu erhalten， besonders dann wenn man sich dessen bewusst wird， dass wir selbst diese Zeit durchlebt haben， nur von einer anderen Perspektive。 Einfach und verständlich geschrieben， menschlich und ehrlich。 Ich bin vermutlich zu einem kleinen Groupie von Özlem und Uğur geworden。 Kann ich nur empfehlen！！
Daniel
，
Es war für mich an der Zeit besser zu verstehe， was ein mRNA-Impfstoff ist und wie dieser funktioniert， da ich davon keine Ahnung hatte， es aber zu einem allgemeinen Thema geworden ist， bei dem jeder eine "Meinung" hat， aber kaum echtes Wissen。Das Buch hat alle meine Fragen beantwortet und auch viele AHA-Effekte geschaffen， warum es z。 B。 auch möglich war so schnell einen geeigneten Impfstoff zu entwickelt。 Alles sehr nachvollziehbar und ich fing an mir zu wünschen viel mehr Menschen würde sich Es war für mich an der Zeit besser zu verstehe， was ein mRNA-Impfstoff ist und wie dieser funktioniert， da ich davon keine Ahnung hatte， es aber zu einem allgemeinen Thema geworden ist， bei dem jeder eine "Meinung" hat， aber kaum echtes Wissen。Das Buch hat alle meine Fragen beantwortet und auch viele AHA-Effekte geschaffen， warum es z。 B。 auch möglich war so schnell einen geeigneten Impfstoff zu entwickelt。 Alles sehr nachvollziehbar und ich fing an mir zu wünschen viel mehr Menschen würde sich informieren。Im Grunde reden wir von verschiedenen Bauteilen/Werkzeugen， die es in gewisser Weise schon gab und die lediglich angepasst wurden。 Innovationen entstehen nicht auf einen Schlag， es gab viele parallele und vernetzte Ereignisse， die sich am Ende in einem neuen Zusammenhang fügten。Noch wichtiger， die Technologie hat Aussicht zukünftig in hoher Geschwindigkeit （als zuvor） neue Impfstoffe zu entwickeln， z。 B。 gegen Malaria oder gar Krebs - das ist großartig！Noch wichtiger scheint aber， das es Menschen wie das Ehepaar Uğur Şahin und Özlem Türeci gibt， die soviel Kraft， Willen， Mut und Disziplin aufbringen und einen so wichtigen gesellschaftlichen Beitrag leisten - beeindruckend！tl;dr:Wirkstoff: ein nukleosid-modifizierte mRNA （auch modRNA）， die für das SpikeGlykoprotein （S） von SARS-CoV-2 kodiert （ich hatte davor keine Ahnung， was das überhaupt bedeutet）Dann kommt die Rolle der "Lipide" （Fettmoleküle） hinzu die eine schützende Hülle um die RNA bilden， damit diese sicher verabreicht werden kann und nicht sofort im Körper abgebaut wird。Salze， um den pH-Wert zu stabilisieren und Zucker bzw。 Saccharose， damit die Lipide bei niedrigen Temperaturen nicht zu zähflüssig werden。 。。。more
Mert Can
，
“Aşının ana bileşeni RNA değildi。 Uğur Şahin ile Özlem Türeci’ydi。” Bence şu ana kadar 3 defa olduğumuz aşının hikayesi kesinlikle okunmaya değer
Beat Monnerat
，
excellent book 。。 scientific insights but also shows the drive and determination needed to become succcessful。 very well written
Katherine
，
This captivating account of an entrepreneurial husband-wife duo fighting against the odds， overcoming hurdles and setback， and revolutionizing modern medicine in the process is a great， inspirational read。 We have all taken a front seat in the drama that unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic。 Now， dive in behind the scenes with the life-saving biomedical researcher duo and their associates that set the scene for one of the first vaccines against this life-crippling scourge。 A powerful read writt This captivating account of an entrepreneurial husband-wife duo fighting against the odds， overcoming hurdles and setback， and revolutionizing modern medicine in the process is a great， inspirational read。 We have all taken a front seat in the drama that unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic。 Now， dive in behind the scenes with the life-saving biomedical researcher duo and their associates that set the scene for one of the first vaccines against this life-crippling scourge。 A powerful read written for the layman， this read is a must-have for anyone wanting to gain insights into the paradigm shift in modern medical care pioneered by Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin。 。。。more
Literary Redhead
，
As gripping as any thriller， THE VACCINE reveals how married scientists， Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci， developed the first COVID-19 vaccine and with Pfizer， produced three billion doses distributed globally in record time。 Easy to read， hard to put down， and highly recommended for fans of medical non-fiction and riveting true stories。 Thanks to the authors， St。 Martin's Press， and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine。 #TheVaccine #NetGalley As gripping as any thriller， THE VACCINE reveals how married scientists， Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci， developed the first COVID-19 vaccine and with Pfizer， produced three billion doses distributed globally in record time。 Easy to read， hard to put down， and highly recommended for fans of medical non-fiction and riveting true stories。 Thanks to the authors， St。 Martin's Press， and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine。 #TheVaccine #NetGalley 。。。more
Richard Skolek
，
A fascinating story of two scientists， husband and wife， who came up with the first vaccine against covid。 What I appreciate most about this book is its breadth。 It deals with the science， of course – explaining in detail how mRNA， coronaviruses or our immune system work – but more than half of the text is dedicated to purely practical hurdles that had to be overcome。 Once you learn how much energy and time and good will and trust was needed and how many people were part of this gigantic project A fascinating story of two scientists， husband and wife， who came up with the first vaccine against covid。 What I appreciate most about this book is its breadth。 It deals with the science， of course – explaining in detail how mRNA， coronaviruses or our immune system work – but more than half of the text is dedicated to purely practical hurdles that had to be overcome。 Once you learn how much energy and time and good will and trust was needed and how many people were part of this gigantic project， it becomes clear what a truly monumental undertaking this was。 It is incredible that there was a vaccine so soon。It certainly helps that the book is also a beautiful story of courage and determination。 Şahin and Türeci were a laughingstock for several decades， but they never lost faith in the possibilities that mRNA could open up。 And now， after so many years， they are vindicated。 。。。more
Ami
，
Brilliant！Much like Vaxxers — the book by Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green about their development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine — The Vaccine is a great read。 Thoroughly written and exceptionally well researched and referenced， Joe Miller gives an inside look at the development of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine — the world’s first mRNA vaccine。 Miller explains the science clearly and enthusiastically， and much of the book is composed of direct conversations with the scientis Brilliant！Much like Vaxxers — the book by Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green about their development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine — The Vaccine is a great read。 Thoroughly written and exceptionally well researched and referenced， Joe Miller gives an inside look at the development of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine — the world’s first mRNA vaccine。 Miller explains the science clearly and enthusiastically， and much of the book is composed of direct conversations with the scientists who produced the vaccine — husband and wife Ozlem Tureci and Ugur Sahin — and their team。 The Vaccine is enthralling throughout， and is written， refreshingly for pop-sci， without any unnecessary frills and flourishes。 Although a great read for anyone， it is an absolute must-read for the vaccine-hesitant or the anti-vaxxers。 。。。more
Stephanie
，
Aside from finding the scientific story fascinating， I really loved the human story that runs through this book。 This is a time through which we all know that emotions have run high and that so much has been turned upside down， but to see the incredible progress and breakthroughs that these scientists made in light of all that was going on in the world is just truly amazing。 I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand not only the story of the creation of the Aside from finding the scientific story fascinating， I really loved the human story that runs through this book。 This is a time through which we all know that emotions have run high and that so much has been turned upside down， but to see the incredible progress and breakthroughs that these scientists made in light of all that was going on in the world is just truly amazing。 I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand not only the story of the creation of the covid vaccines （BioNTech/Pfizer's in particular， of course）， but also what it takes to be a human working on the most complex and pressing challenges of our time under incredible amounts of pressure。 。。。more
Niklas Heer
，
This book tells the incredible story of the BioNTech vaccine。 I found it inspiring and very informative。 The story is told in a very captivating way。 It also covers more details about the vaccine and how it works。 Overall this is a fine book。 I can recommend it to everyone interested in this story or who wants to understand mRNA vaccines better。
Emily Correia
，
I was really excited to see this come the shelves from Net Galley after reading Gottleib’s book last year。 I think it’s interesting to have read both of these books， as this one doves much more into the scientific response to the pandemic， while Gottleib’s focuses more on agency response within the U。S。 this also largely takes place in the German BioNTech facilities， which added another layer to the complexity。 From the get go， I felt I was reading quickly， but didn’t seem to be making much prog I was really excited to see this come the shelves from Net Galley after reading Gottleib’s book last year。 I think it’s interesting to have read both of these books， as this one doves much more into the scientific response to the pandemic， while Gottleib’s focuses more on agency response within the U。S。 this also largely takes place in the German BioNTech facilities， which added another layer to the complexity。 From the get go， I felt I was reading quickly， but didn’t seem to be making much progress which was discouraging， only to realize that it was because just over the final 20% is acknowledgements， appendices and footnotes。 The thing I wasn’t expecting here though， was that this feels like a heroes tale of two scientists fighting the pandemic。 I felt like it was heavy on feeling the humanity of the work they were doing， and really shone a light on the drug discovery process in lay terms。 As someone intimately familiar with the R&D processes to bring a drug to market， it was a refreshing description of the steps companies normally have to take compared to what was done in the pandemic。 I really appreciated the story of how a small biotech company’s science helped the world through a pandemic。 This is definitely a worthwhile read。 。。。more
Y。N。
，
Ich bin ein großer Fan von diesem Buch。 Hier finden Sie alle Antworten darüber， wie der Impfstoff überhaupt hergestellt wurde， die Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Impfstoffherstellern， ihr Spezialgebiet， das Vorteile schafft， die schnellen Reaktionen， um etwas zu tun， und Taktiken， die funktionieren。 Ein sehr interessantes Buch， das Sie heute unbedingt lesen sollten。
R Anıl
，
İf you are working in pharmaceuticals or medicine this is for you。 İts unnecessarily long and detailed for anyone that wants to get an idea of covid and covid vaccines。 İts about why they chose to work on mRNA vaccines and how they adapted to making a Covid vaccine while everyone knew BioNTech as a cancer researching company。
Ylve
，
*3。5 - 4。0 ⭐️
Steve
，
I loved this book。 It is so much more than just a science story。 While there is much science involved， the story also involves politics， finance， business and， most importantly， people。 The scope of the book is narrow in that it really is only about the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and there is not much on the other vaccines。 On the other hand， this allows the book to spend a lot of time on biography。 I found the book hard to put down。 It is well written， with a conversational tone， with 。 Thank yo I loved this book。 It is so much more than just a science story。 While there is much science involved， the story also involves politics， finance， business and， most importantly， people。 The scope of the book is narrow in that it really is only about the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and there is not much on the other vaccines。 On the other hand， this allows the book to spend a lot of time on biography。 I found the book hard to put down。 It is well written， with a conversational tone， with 。 Thank you to Netgalley and St。 Martin's Press for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Karen
，
THE VACCINE: INSIDE THE RACE TO CONQUER THE COVID-19 PANDEMICBY: JOE MILLERThis was a fantastic and profoundly interesting glimpse into one coup;e's dynamic knowledge and their foreboding early predictions of knowing ahead of time that we were heading into a pandemic。 As early as January of 2020， Ugur Sahin was home reading a scientific journal and he saw where there was a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Wuhan， China。 Ugur and his wife Ozlem Tureci are doctors that are also research scientists that are b THE VACCINE: INSIDE THE RACE TO CONQUER THE COVID-19 PANDEMICBY: JOE MILLERThis was a fantastic and profoundly interesting glimpse into one coup;e's dynamic knowledge and their foreboding early predictions of knowing ahead of time that we were heading into a pandemic。 As early as January of 2020， Ugur Sahin was home reading a scientific journal and he saw where there was a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Wuhan， China。 Ugur and his wife Ozlem Tureci are doctors that are also research scientists that are both emigrated from Turkey where they have been living in Mainz， Germany running a cutting edge company named BioNTech。 They have been using mRNA to treat cancerous tumors as immunologists which is cutting edge in their field。 They owned a former company which was successful before developing BioNTech。 Ugur， who while thinking about the virus outbreak was also trained in Mathematics。 As Ugur did some quick calculations figuring in for Wuhan's size and the many travel routes in this city's metropolis he predicted that this could lead to a full scale， World wide International pandemic back in early January 2020。 mRNA is messenger RNA which this couple used and they thought that they ought to try to develop a vaccine using mRNA to attack the bulbous spikes which are the part of what would later be called COVID19。 This Author， Joe Miller has written an accessible book detailing these two amazing Scientists journey into the race to develop a Covid19 vaccine to help save lives from what they predicted would be a global crises。 The Author provides a historical record of the steps that this couple used as a strategy to develop a safe vaccine in record time for emergency use。 He also includes the multiple other health scares that the world has faced like Ebola， SARS， MERS， Polio， Small Pox， the Swine Flu that the Obama administration handled。 Ugur and Ozlem didn't work in infectious disease， but from their success with mRNA， they thought that it could also be used to attack the spikes that pierce the lungs like Velcro and they used their immune system knowledge to develop in record time。 They named their operation "Project Lightspeed。"Developing a vaccine in months was no easy task。 This book chronicles the process of every step of the way of the miraculous decisions that led to these two to harness a molecule that most of pharmacologists shunned。 Starting with the recognizing that the fifty or so cases of this novel respiratory illness caused by Pathogens that broke the species barrier， known as zoonotic viruses， weren't uncommon， and the likelihood of a small cluster of infections leading to a public health crises was usually minimal except for this time。 While Ugur read on that there was a submission from more than twenty Hong Kong based researchers offering an analysis of a "familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus，" didn't concern Ugur。 What did concern him was the second part of the article， "indicating person-to-person transmission。" A quintet of a family checked into a teaching hospital with all of the symptoms we associate with COVID19， but what terrified Ugur was that one member who was a child was asymptomatic and as the six member of the family a seven year old tested positive for the new coronavirus。 This suggested that， unlike the SARS-CoV outbreak of 2002， here was a pathogen that could travel undetected between perfectly healthy people。 It was， in effect a silent assassin as this family denied having come in contact with the animals and they were all sick except the seven year old。 Ugur was no infectious disease expert， but he lived through SARS-CoV outbreak and its successor that emerged in Saudi Arabia a decade later， known as the Middle East respiratory syndrome， or MERS， and out of curiosity he had studied the data modeling that predicted their rapid spread。 He knew by instinct that with this emergence of a new undetected pathogen that could be spread unwittingly by healthy people in one of the most connected and populous cities provided an almost perfect platform for a pandemic。 This with some calculations in the best case scenario could mean 2 million deaths worldwide， far surpassing recent epidemics。 He told his wife and they began with the help of others the race to develop a vaccine using mRNA。This was absolutely fascinating to read about this multifaceted history in the making。 They did join forces with Pfizer， but they did all of the work。 There is so much information on this to encapsulate in a review。 This was very engaging and I was able to understand the science thanks to the way this talented Author narrated this journey。 There is so much that can go wrong developing a vaccine and it is all described in an easy to understand way。 If you got the Pfizer vaccine you will learn the complex way that it was developed。 Moderna used mRNA also but they were funded by the United States government。 I really loved this and am so impressed how this Author was able to pack so much information in such a short book。 I felt like I was a silent witness inside the narrative。 I learned so much and am grateful that I read this。 I was never bored and this doesn't read like a dense text book which I appreciated。 I highly recommend giving this book consideration if you are interested in learning without being overwhelmed by not understanding the science。Publication Date: February 1， 2022Thank you to Net Galley， Joe Miller and St。 Martin's Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review。 All opinions are my own。#TheVaccine #JoeMiller #StMartin'sPress #NetGalley 。。。more
Firetruckmama
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I received an e-ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher。“The Vaccine” by Joe Miller， Ugur Sahin， and Ozlem Tureci is a non-fiction book telling the story about BioNTech， which developed the first vaccine against COVID-19。I’ll be honest， reading a book about the COVID vaccine’s creation while waiting 15 minutes after a COVID-19 booster shot felt rather surreal。 This book basically tells the story of a couple， Ugur Sahin and Ozlewm Tureci， and how working together in their biotech c I received an e-ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher。“The Vaccine” by Joe Miller， Ugur Sahin， and Ozlem Tureci is a non-fiction book telling the story about BioNTech， which developed the first vaccine against COVID-19。I’ll be honest， reading a book about the COVID vaccine’s creation while waiting 15 minutes after a COVID-19 booster shot felt rather surreal。 This book basically tells the story of a couple， Ugur Sahin and Ozlewm Tureci， and how working together in their biotech company they found a way - in a hurry too - to create a vaccine for COVID-19。 Was it easy？ No。 Was their company an overnight success story？ No and， in fact， the author gives the backstory of Sahin and Tureci finding funding and trying to keep their previous company afloat。 Was it quick？ Since I’ve worked with companies that had FDA oversight， yes， getting a vaccine approved in less than a year is a near miracle。 Was it just the two people working on this？ No， they had a company （albeit small） with dedicated workers， researches， backers （fortunately）， and help from others in the scientific community to start （and continue helping） the ball rolling on the COVID-19 vaccine。 Was it breaking new technology？ Yes and no。 Others had looked into mRNA vaccines before， but getting it to work consistently was an issue。 Biotech is not easy - nor is going through regulations， testing， and manufacturing - and for all of those things， this book rather clearly spells out what BioNTech needed to do and how they went about accomplishing the seemingly impossible at times （Phase 3 testing - never easy， but they did it）。 If you want a book explaining more about how the US companies （such as Moderna） made decisions， this is not the book for you （that’s not a negative， it’s just not the scope of this book）。 This book is about a European-based company， dealing with German and EU regulations （which differ from those in the US）， and trying to do the seemingly impossible in a short time。 If you want more background on the COVID-19 virus， how BioNTech became the forefront company in developing a vaccine， and what went into making that happen， then read this book。While I found the information about the company and science interesting， I wish that the book had included images and better organization。 I’ve a tiny bit of knowledge about genetics， so， while I knew that a lot of the technical science was going to be above my head （and it was）， I found myself really wishing for some drawings （even line ones） to explain what the author was describing （in this case， I’m pretty sure a picture would’ve saved a few hundred words）。 Visuals would have greatly helped “the layman” understand some of the technical bits of this book。 I also would’ve liked an orderly timeline - sometimes the author talks about the present， then flips back a few years to the past， then returns to the present - then takes a zip down history lane - then returns to the present。 Subheads with years （or even a different subtitle） would’ve helped。 As a positive， there are a number of footnotes （over 200， I believe） and the last 20% of the e-ARC version I read was mainly the footnoted information。 I found the last bit a bit lackluster - but since COVID is ongoing， it's hard to conclude a book when the subject is current。 。。。more
Eva
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Sehr spannend zu lesen。 Am Ende überwiegt Dankbarkeit und das Erstaunen， wieviele Menschen sich mit großer Leidenschaft und unglaublich viel Mut und Kraft in diesen Prozess eingebracht haben und wieviel Zufälle auch zeitlich zusammen kommen mussten um die Entwicklung des Impfstoffes überhaupt möglich zu machen。 Und es bleibt die Hoffnung， dass hier weitere therapeutische Innovationen zu erwarten sind， dass die Pandemie mit all ihren Schrecken auch Kristallisationspunkt für weitere großartige Neu Sehr spannend zu lesen。 Am Ende überwiegt Dankbarkeit und das Erstaunen， wieviele Menschen sich mit großer Leidenschaft und unglaublich viel Mut und Kraft in diesen Prozess eingebracht haben und wieviel Zufälle auch zeitlich zusammen kommen mussten um die Entwicklung des Impfstoffes überhaupt möglich zu machen。 Und es bleibt die Hoffnung， dass hier weitere therapeutische Innovationen zu erwarten sind， dass die Pandemie mit all ihren Schrecken auch Kristallisationspunkt für weitere großartige Neuigkeiten gewesen sein wird: „Das war erst der Anfang。“ 。。。more
Linden
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BioNTech， the German company which partnered with Pfizer to create the Covid vaccine， was started by Ugur and Ozlem， a husband and wife team of scientists， both children of Turkish immigrants。 It was interesting to read about the evolution of this company， which begun with the mission of treating cancer， and to learn that it was not only amazing scientific know-how， but also funding， which was important to the vaccine’s development。 Ugur proudly told Angela Merkel in January of 2021 video confer BioNTech， the German company which partnered with Pfizer to create the Covid vaccine， was started by Ugur and Ozlem， a husband and wife team of scientists， both children of Turkish immigrants。 It was interesting to read about the evolution of this company， which begun with the mission of treating cancer， and to learn that it was not only amazing scientific know-how， but also funding， which was important to the vaccine’s development。 Ugur proudly told Angela Merkel in January of 2021 video conference ， that the team ”consisted of experts from over 60 countries， and more than half were women。” The author made the information both accessible to the general reader， and technical enough to please most "science geeks。" Recommended for anyone with an interest in science， or readers just wanting to know about the vaccine development process。 Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC。 。。。more
Katarina Janoskova
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Excellent。I got their vaccine and it was wonderful to read the journey of it being developed。 From the very first mention of Wuhan to my arm being a bit sore - just over a year。 Mad！ But they did it。Looking forward to see what BioNTech does next！
David White
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