title: [Book Sharing] Vaccine Business War - Life and Death Competition of AZ, BNT, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax Under the COVID-19 Crisis
published: false
date: 2022-10-28 00:00:00 UTC
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canonical_url: http://www.evanlin.com/reading-the-shot-save-the-world/
---
[](http://moo.im/a/79nATX "Vaccine Business War")
Vaccine Business War - Life and Death Competition of AZ, BNT, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax Under the COVID-19 Crisis
A Shot to Save the World : The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine
Author: Gregory Zuckerman
Original Author: Gregory Zuckerman
Translator: Liao Yuejuan, Zhang Xuanzhu, Zhong Rongfang, Huang Yu'an
#### Recommended Book Purchase Website:
- [Readmoo Online Book Purchase](http://moo.im/a/79nATX)
# Preface:
This is the twenty-first book I've read this year. I remember when Taiwan was arguing about vaccines, I bought this book and read it slowly (it's quite thick). It contains a lot of interesting vaccine history and also details the difficulties and choices each pharmaceutical company faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, it also describes the practical difficulties of vaccine distribution strategies and distribution processes in various countries after the vaccines were developed. I really hope that before criticizing various vaccine policies, you can read this book carefully.
# Synopsis:
A plot as exciting and thrilling as a novel
The most inspiring chapter in the history of biomedicine
Tracing back over 40 years, interviewing over 300 experts from industry, government, academia, and research
Vividly presenting the fierce business war of the five major brands of COVID-19 vaccines in a novel-like style
"An inspiring, informative, and captivating book."
──Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, almost no one was prepared. Government officials, business leaders, and public health experts were at a loss in the face of the most destructive pandemic in a century, and even many of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers were slow to react, unable to save the desperate world.
When the virus hijacked the world, it was a group of seemingly unreliable scientists and businessmen who stepped forward!
Including the seemingly lying French businessman Bancel (CEO of Moderna), the Turkish immigrant Sahin (founder of BNT) who had no experience in developing viral vaccines, the Boston scientist Barouch (adenovirus expert) who used questionable technology, the British scientist Warren and the Hungarian researcher Karikó (pioneer of mRNA research) who were ostracized by their peers...
In order to race against death, these scientists and businessmen fought together, vying to devote their life's work to COVID-19 vaccines, striving to win in this research and development competition.
Wall Street Journal investigative reporter and New York Times best-selling author Gregory Zuckerman takes us into highly confidential laboratories and the top levels of major vaccine institutions. In-depth reporting, coupled with a thrilling plot, makes this book not only the most important contemporary vaccine science chronicle, but also a moving story about competition, ambition, and belief.
## Chapter 1 The First Human Vaccine (1779-1987)
The concept of vaccines originated in 1777, when a British farmer discovered that one of the milkmaids in his family had cowpox and was not affected by the deadly smallpox. He then used a sewing needle to break the cowpox and obtain the liquid. This allowed his family to avoid smallpox infection. This method was not only unsanitary but also dangerous, but it was the beginning of vaccines. Later, the British doctor Edward Jenner wrote a paper on this through more experiments and observations.
Later, doctors Salk and Sabin also used similar methods to create polio vaccines. This benefited thousands of children.
## Chapters 2 to 5 Deciphering the mRNA Problem (1997-2009)
These four chapters explain the development process of mRNA, which is a very long-term development. At the beginning, many pharmaceutical companies were working hard to create vaccines against AIDS.
The evolution of vaccines often goes through long-term research. Researchers at Merck constantly worked to find an AIDS vaccine. They even used adenovirus to try to bring antibodies into the immune system. As for whether adenovirus can be a good carrier? Maybe not, because many people have been infected with adenovirus, so the adenovirus will be eliminated in the immune system. It cannot correctly transmit antibodies to the immune system.
In the late 1980s, Wolff focused on researching how mRNA could help antibodies avoid the immune system and then produce proteins, and after production, the mRNA would be broken down, perfectly completing the task, thereby solving many difficult genetic defects-related diseases. After many trials, it was found that DNA and mRNA could actually produce proteins in mice, thereby changing the DNA of the mice. But unfortunately, Wolff did not continue to complete his research, and he died of esophageal cancer. But his research opened up a new world.
## The Cross-Century Virus - The Emergence of COVID-19 and the Vaccine War
Then there are many interesting chapters that appear one after another. In late 2019, COVID-19 infections appeared. Afterwards, several companies - Moderna, BNT, and AZ - began to develop vaccines. The relevant decisions and the subsequent impact of the vaccines on these manufacturers' vaccine supply times, this book also details the difficulties each pharmaceutical company may encounter in supplying vaccines:
- Lack of related equipment: Vaccine vials became scarce, and everyone was scrambling for them.
- Funding supply: Although vaccines have some profits, many pharmaceutical companies initially got stuck because they did not have the funds to mass-produce vaccines.
Later, it also mentioned how the side effects of vaccines were handled, and how some data was amplified and interpreted by various countries. Finally, it also mentioned that vaccines and viruses are a war between humans and nature. Every time a vaccine is perfectly completed, another new deadly virus is produced.
Humans can only constantly research new vaccines to give each DNA a new way to resist. Only then can we face the invasion of various unknown viruses.
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