The world was caught flat footed when COVID surfaced in China in December 2019. This book describes how we can better protect ourselves from future outbreaks exploding into pandemics.
In 1955, the vaccine that eliminated polio was celebrated as a “planned miracle.” Today, despite the astonishing global effort that came together to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 at unprecedented speed, we struggle against the rise of science denial and misinformation. Since 2020, we have had to face a terrifying truth: It’s not if we’ll experience another pandemic, it’s when. How do we prepare?
Planning Miracles tells the stories of the committed scientists at the front lines, fighting back against societal distrust and panic, monitoring the threats that exist, detecting outbreaks early, and developing new interventions as quickly as possible. I travel from the mountains of Vietnam to the rainforests in the Amazon, from the “wet” markets in Cambodia to fairgrounds in the United States, exploring how we can better defend ourselves against the growing threat of pandemics, and he finds surprising—and encouraging—answers. You’ll meet scientists sampling bats, pigs, wild birds, poultry, and insects to hunt for the next dangerous virus. You’ll visits lab developing next-generation vaccines with cutting-edge technology that aim to protect us from entire viral families. And you’ll learn about the unexpected links I discovered between climate change and the spread of disease and describes efforts to improve the equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and data sharing around the world.
Weaving together history, reportage, and science writing, Planning Miracles is revelatory and necessary—providing hope that if we work together to plan for the next pandemic, we can avoid disaster.