Moonshot by Albert Bourla

Moonshot by Albert Bourla – Inside Pfizer’s Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible – is a great read, so interesting to learn about what happened in Pfizer when covid hit. It is very well written, a delight to read even if you are not usually reading non-fiction. He explains the science, but it is mostly about decisions, evaluating and accepting risk, and some personal stories. His account of what his parents when through during the German occupation makes the book a must read in its own.

We tend to think of big pharma or any other company as a whole, which is obviously a mistake. Thus, it is interesting to see the doubts people had, including the CEO. Bourla took a lot of risks and the price-tag for developing the vaccine was huge, if it didn’t work, the costs would have been very high. For a CEO who only got his job recently, to be willing to spend $2 billion on a vaccine is incredible. We all should have some respect if not gratitude for them taking these risks. I was vaccinated with Pfizer, so I feel that gratitude.

The book is not only about US, as he talks about Israel and UK too. He is very appreciative of both countries, having praise for how well it worked. Israel was another risk for Pfizer, but a very good one to take. It showed the levels needed for herd immunity and that the vaccine was waning in time, meaning there was a need for a booster. Bourla is a Greek immigrant, born to Holocaust survivors, and a veterinarian. Maybe his background made it easier for him to take risks as he did. I was also impressed with some of the smaller decisions he took. The book is worth reading, without any doubt.