Uncontrolled Spread: Why Covid-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic

Gottlieb, who served in the Trump administration as FDA commissioner from 2017 to 2019, delivers a well-informed if self-serving take on America’s botched response to Covid-19. Covering well-trod ground, Gottlieb recounts the first reports of a new respiratory disease emerging in China, the CDC’s mistakes in developing and distributing a diagnostic test for the virus, shortfalls in the national stockpile of medical equipment, the use of mRNA technology to develop the first vaccines, and the politicization of preventive measures such as mask wearing. He notes that the Obama administration’s pandemic response plan didn’t discuss masking, and describes President Trump during a March 2020 White House visit as “well-briefed” by his staff and accepting of the need for “strong action” to mitigate the spread of the disease. Gottlieb’s suggestions for how to better prepare for the next pandemic include using “the tools and tradecraft of our clandestine services” to gather information on foreign outbreaks, and manufacturing more “critical healthcare components and finished goods” in the U.S. Though he lucidly explains scientific and logistical matters, Gottlieb’s tendency to cite his own Wall Street Journal op-eds grates. This pandemic postmortem is more concerned with boosting the author’s reputation than breaking new ground. (Sept.)