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vireogirl's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Quick paced story of developing the COVID vaccine. It was astonishingly fast.
Lightened up with little details about the pandemic work conditions.
Lightened up with little details about the pandemic work conditions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Death, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Cancer
pratiksocialgraph's review against another edition
4.0
The fascinating story of how the vaccine that probably saved my life and definitely did for several others out there was developed in a record 88 days. Immigrants get the job done!
thesydda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
studeksbooknook's review against another edition
5.0
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.
eecorreia's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
shanaqui's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
The Vaccine is an account of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, and the circumstances which allowed it to be produced so quickly despite being a new type of vaccine. Each step is carefully explained, from the moment the founders of BioNTech realised the danger (gratifyingly, at the same time I was drawing similar conclusions, well before anyone else really felt alarmed) to the moment the vaccine was fully licensed and began full distribution.
The book is aimed at laypeople, but does include some technical detail that might be interesting to an educated outsider (I'm studying for my MSc in Infectious Diseases) -- for instance, I was particularly interested in their different RNA formulations, like saRNA and modRNA. I found the immune system = army metaphors rather tiresome, though it does admittedly make a reasonable analogy for laypeople. I do worry it leans into the fallacy people have of thinking of the immune system as something directed and intelligent, rather than reactive, though.
This book is hugely positive toward BioNTech and its founders, and was written -- as far as I can tell -- with their help. I don't know of any point at which it deviates from the truth or glosses over something unpleasant, but it is worth remembering that slant and the fact that it wants to present itself as a heroic narrative, in which the BioNTech founders vanquish SARS-CoV-2 and end the pandemic. In reality, as I write, the pandemic is ongoing. Fewer people are dying, but we're seeing increasing vaccine escape alongside renewed government complacency. A resurgence causing many more deaths -- or perhaps more likely, much more disability -- is entirely on the cards.
I do agree with the book that the vaccine is an astounding achievement, all the same, and the discussions of how the process was sped up are interesting: the timescales are compressed, but corners aren't being cut, at least as described here. Emergency authorisation for a vaccine was always going to involve this kind of compromise.
The book is aimed at laypeople, but does include some technical detail that might be interesting to an educated outsider (I'm studying for my MSc in Infectious Diseases) -- for instance, I was particularly interested in their different RNA formulations, like saRNA and modRNA. I found the immune system = army metaphors rather tiresome, though it does admittedly make a reasonable analogy for laypeople. I do worry it leans into the fallacy people have of thinking of the immune system as something directed and intelligent, rather than reactive, though.
This book is hugely positive toward BioNTech and its founders, and was written -- as far as I can tell -- with their help. I don't know of any point at which it deviates from the truth or glosses over something unpleasant, but it is worth remembering that slant and the fact that it wants to present itself as a heroic narrative, in which the BioNTech founders vanquish SARS-CoV-2 and end the pandemic. In reality, as I write, the pandemic is ongoing. Fewer people are dying, but we're seeing increasing vaccine escape alongside renewed government complacency. A resurgence causing many more deaths -- or perhaps more likely, much more disability -- is entirely on the cards.
I do agree with the book that the vaccine is an astounding achievement, all the same, and the discussions of how the process was sped up are interesting: the timescales are compressed, but corners aren't being cut, at least as described here. Emergency authorisation for a vaccine was always going to involve this kind of compromise.
desheria's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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.