We’re talk to Michael call about the spending bill that is working its way through
Democratic circles. We’re all
just bystanders with the right
now is somebody
that road I topic that every
single home listening to me
right now has something they
can really to about it. His
>> Yeah and what they did in a week that AP topic, your brand new book out today is called
a shot to save the world the
inside story of the life or
death race for a COVID-19
vaccine. You do not take gun
easy topics would you take on
very important topics.
I try to explain how big
things for you know the average
reader because I’m sort of an
average guy and is often on a
drama that people aren’t aware
of and innovation in.
>> Entrepreneurship and I think
we need to appreciate it.
2019 happens. We don’t even
know how China gave us this
virus. We don’t know we thought
we have some strange animal bad
theory and we’ve got the more
likely theory now the Wuhan lab
theory but all we know is
Americans are getting it,
there’s a symptomatic spread
this person to person spread we
don’t even know exactly what
we’re dealing with. But we know
we’ve got to stop it. Where
does your book
pick up. Yes, so I tell the
drama of the past year, but I
first started decades earlier
why do I do that because the
approaches that we. Depended on
for these vaccines mrna
dental virus. One that led to
the change and some other ones
these approaches actions he
they started years earlier all
in America we’re talking about
innovators researchers
scientists and labs just
slogging away more to try to
push it forward.
Meeting frustrations and I want
to shed light on how it was a
long process of some of us are
nervous and for good reason.
Well all of us and we’ve got
these vaccines and we in the
average vaccine until this
year. 10 years it takes the
average vaccine, a fast as one
ever was measles in those 4
years and here you are coming
in tell me that these vaccine
I’m going to be taking over and
they were done within 300 days
3 in today’s Brian
and part of the reason I wrote
this book is to explain that
will actually know
the research the DEA amazing
American usually but not always
technology that went into this
stuff. It took years literally
decades to get it right
right so first off how long did
it take for them to realize
what they were
dealing with. So some of the
scientists I write about in the
executives him in the companies
like stuff and then sell
adjourn 9 ugur Sahin and beyond
tack. In January they were
starting to get scared and as
an executive I write about
actually a senior guy Moderna
I read twenty-twenty chain
twenty-twenty he started
telling his family. Pat
buy stuff toilet paper
tissues, he bought a 3rd
refrigerant here to stock up
his house and food and his
family that was crazy we’re
talk about the middle of
January when you when I was
flying a are flying in Europe
know January and I was in
wearing a mask known as kind of
concerned but these guys were
so I give them a lot of credit
they were we’re worried about
this this this both of pandemic
but also just about the spread
and where it might go so to
their credit they said we have
to do something about it.
Understood so we had to do some
about when to go for
therapeutic to treated. Yeah,
it’s a good question. Some
companies did try. Largely
unsuccessful their hopes now
now that maybe we’ll have a
pill but historically vaccines
are with how we stop pandemics
and now his top lakes. Things
like polio going back in
history and even more recently
vaccines are usually the thing
that the Holy Grail because you
get a shot
you’re protected and vaccines
which really testing to me is
until 2020. The
big companies really didn’t
want to be in vaccines wasn’t
that much money in vaccines,
you need to take a shot every
once in a while it’s not like a
Staten, every day who wants to
be in it so I found fascinating
is the big giant smirk gsk
Santa Fe did the vaccine Giants
didn’t go after a covid vaccine
they did not have hardly they
were unsuccessful instead it
was these an known companies
Moderna be on Tech those kinds
of scientists what you think
they did partly because their
takes sort
innovators people that ignore
the expert, I mean if you
remember back in early 2020 a
lot of the experts said old.
Yeah it’s going to take years
to develop a vaccine don’t
waste your time don’t believe
in mrna it hasn’t been proven
before and I give these guys a
lot of credit to scientists so
within
these companies and that they
believed in their work and they
had is resilient inability to
ignore the experts how many
companies were actually
contracted the America, us
government to go to work in
this vaccine. So operation warp
speed shows 6 companies to give
funding to from 3 different
vaccine. Approaches mrna is one
that by Russ one is another
approach and is the protein
subunit approach the 3
approaches and what they did
was was little bit like
investment portfolio operation
warp speed said we’re
going to portfolio here and
we’re going to assume that some
will work some won’t work we’re
going to get some home run in
his portfolio they got more
than one home run and you’ve
got to give a warp speed
tremendous amount of of
credit both for the financing
but other kind of help they
gave the companies as well and
I don’t think it’s appreciated
how much. The government worked
with these companies to set to
develop these vaccine like
we’ve never possibly seen
before Greg Zuckerman here.
His book is out today if you
have not heard of how this
happened no one has he does
original reporting like nobody
else I’ve
ever seen is it an unwinding
for the every man Greg sounds
like a scientist he’s not
you know got a phd to help them
out and explain this whole
thing to him. The name of the
book is called the shot to save
the world who came up with the
idea for operation warp speed
of
the concept. it’s not
clear it was brought to the
Donald Trump part of until
slaoui is was the head of it
not as low as an interesting
guy he was on the board of
Moderna but he’s always a
little bit skeptical of Moderna
mrna for years but he’s a super
smart guy
and Donald Trump got got behind
the administration got behind
it. It was a brilliant idea
because never in history have
we done things at the same time
meaning manufacture a vaccine
test the vaccine to all the
steps necessary usually you
wait it takes years literally
takes years first
you tested. Rivers develop, but
then you test it and then you
manufactured and the idea was
let’s do it all at the same
time to losing 10’s of
thousands of people we don’t
have that type of time. So
we’ve got to go do it.
there’s a race to do it so how
did the government set up
private industry to be
successful to do their thing
too free them up to to take
chances so part of it was with
plain old cash
it was money that some of these
companies talk not all of them,
but some loan took to develop
touch to do trials to develop
their vaccines. But it is also
money that they paid to buy the
vaccines ahead of time Amy can
you imagine the risk that was
taken and the criticism that
might have resulted had to say
that scenes not worked out had
not been not
been effective. We as a
government stepped up we paid
we wrote big checks to these
companies saying we think
you’re going to write we think
you’re going to produce these
vaccines and we write a check
right now and they needed that
money that they were they were
desperate. So these companies
are right about were desperate
for financing and as as
recently as May 2020. So
you explain this to me you play
out this question come out
right. He said for the first
time they’re ever able to test
in real time it was like hey
try this you were able to test
in real time how
so I would argue that the was
traditional in that they were
10’s of thousands
of people and underwent the
trials volunteers insights,
they recruited them.
They just went at a faster pace
but not compromising safety and
I was looking for that I was
careful about that and everyone
I’ve talked to is saying
to me We were aware we were
scared like anybody else and we
knew that if we produce a
vaccine that had a red awful
side effect, not only would
blow it for us in our company
and at effort would board for
everyone so we were really very
careful so to their credit FDA
moved quicker
than usual but not in terms of
compromising safety just in
terms of getting rid of the
bureaucracy. So when did they
start seen success. So a whole.
So many companies like Moderna
had early signs we’re talking
even January and February 2020.
In things they’re testing in
monkeys and in so they
internally we’re pretty
optimistic but.
say no it right it could say
they weren’t sure
we’re doing a lot of these
mammals either so they had hits
they early hands when you and I
we’re starting to get nervous
about pandemic when I was
locking down in my basement in
New Jersey.
These companies were started to
get optimistic, but the real
question was would they have
the resources in the yes, they
turn to the government, but
they also turn to Wall Street.
I mean while she gets all this
criticism big Pharma gets all
this criticism we’ve got to
give them a lot of credit Wall
Street stepped up at a time in
May 2020, the gates Foundation
didn’t give Moderna money.
Merck didn’t want to work with
Moderna lot of people didn’t
want to have anything to do
with they were on heard of
unknown their approach no one
really trusted. And Wall Street
did step up and after we have
to get a lot of credit they
gave over a billion dollars put
him in the pocket, they bought
shares and Moderna said go go
go let’s go build its vaccine
where the gates Foundation put
them money than another kind of
bats and they did
good work out a wanted Yeah
they they they they had
resources tied up elsewhere to
so describe for everyone.
You know if I want the flu
vaccine. They shoot the flu and
and they hope they got the
right flow. Right but mrna is
different and this could be
very important someone
listening right now who’s very
queasy about getting a shot
because they don’t know what
the shooting into the system
which is they know that’s
exactly right so it’s important
to know that traditionally not
in knot these vaccines, but
traditionally vaccine shots
included as you say either
killed version of the virus
itself a watered down version
of its attenuated it’s called
so you have some version of the
vaccine and its to evolve
traditional. polio, et cetera
and historically there was some
percentage of people who
unfortunately got the disease
that they were trying to
protect in the whole idea of
vaccines is to educate to teach
the new system
and so historically say all
right, I’m gonna put in the
vaccine. A piece of
the virus and the immune
system’s going have an
experience is going have an
education and it’s going to
know when it sees it for the
real time I
we know how to fight it off
with these vaccines, the very
different to him earn a
basically is a message it’s
called at and M is for
messenger and we all have mrna
in us it’s how our proteins
that that we depend on our
created basically on with DNA
doesn’t go into the cell’s DNA
to mrna to create a protein.
That’s are the basics of
biology and people
scientists entrepreneurs.
Venture capitalist always
said well OK if mrna so
important mrna can create
naturally we’re talking about
naturally creates proteins in
the body what if we could
create these Marine A’s, these
molecules in the lab and it was
always like this holy Grail
well, yeah of course if we
could figure it out.
We could create we could make
the body into its own
manufacture its Vaccine or even
drug. Manufacture in our own
body so it’s always like to
hope and the skeptics always an
added no way you can get mrna
all the way into the cell
because it’s chopped up so
quickly that’s the fascinating
thing about mrna some people
worry that it’s going to affect
their DNA and being out and
know it gets
chopped up. House instantly and
that’s why people never want to
work with them are So it took
years and
years of entrepreneurship and
innovation and stubbornness on
the part of researchers that
are right about in my book to
finally figure out a way to
create a marina in the lab.
It’s called recombinant mrna
put it in a vaccine and get all
the way into our body and ended
it does get chopped up really
quickly by the enzymes. But it
last long enough
to teach our body to create a
protein in this case, the spike
protein create a protein that
teaches the body’s immune
system odd next time I see that
Spike protein going to fight
off so you have to turn and
Pfizer working the foot with
mrna was just in
Johnson doing so Johnson and
Johnson and others group in
England Oxford University along
AstraZeneca
they use a virus and they say
OK we’re going to put the gene
for that indicate this case the
spike protein
on to a virus put into vaccine
and that virus is going to
carry this genetic information
isn’t Jack instructions into
the body sound you said
yourself well why do I wanna
put a virus into my body and
the answer is
this virus is not harmful
they’ve taken out the
ingredients such that it
doesn’t spread it just gets in
viruses really getting into the
cells and then it disappears so
that their approach.
effective is not quite as
effective as mrna but it’s
effective in
I would take the in a heartbeat
>> Breaking news, unique opinions spirit all on the Brian kilmeade show 3
here to discuss a monumental
national achievement from the
instant the coronavirus invaded
our shores we raced into action
to develop. >> A safe and effective vaccine at breakneck speed it would
normally take 5 years 6 years 7
years or even more in order to
achieve this goal we harness
the full power of government.
The genius of American
scientists and the
might of American industry to
save millions and millions of
lives all over the world we’re
just days away from
authorization from the FDA and
we’re heart that which point we
will immediately begin mass
distribution. Before operation
warp speed the typical time
frame for development that
approval has you know. Could
be infinity and we were very
very happy that we were able to
get things done at a level that
nobody has ever seen
not only judge ready for one
point really president Trump
making the announcement in
December of 2020 they got a
vaccine. They got 2 of them.
>> They were eventually of 3 of
them and maybe another one
coming that is not news to Greg
Zuckerman along the way taking
a bet on the vaccine and taking
a bet to be a good story.
>> Greg that to you you were
betting they’re going to get a
vaccine. So you learning about
the technology behind it the
science by the biology bind it
and that moment in December
what
we thinking.
>> I was happy for the world
happy for myself and my family
have my loved ones on my uncle
passed away of I know people
with long covid.
You know we’ve all gone through
a really difficult period and I
think we’re too close to it to
to to appreciate
that these vaccines and I know
some people are controversial
but to me
they’re just an American
invention and reflection of
American exceptionalism an
ingenious and we don’t give
enough credit to to appraise
were speech to the scientists
to the finance years, the
American financier is behind it
it’s a real American
success story.
>> So you said the Pfizer and
Moderna the heads of foreign
born, but they said they had to
do it in America, why I spoke
to both of stuff and then sell
is from our say in thick
accent, your sign
born in Turkey and lives in
Germany right now as companies
Germany and yet they both told
me that these vaccines. The men journal ones and the Pfizer biontech ones could not have
been produced without America
without American investors, you
know we forget we’ve got.
The ecosystem here capitalism
in this country, we’ll
step up in take a risk that you
can’t get anywhere else you
could not do this in Europe,
there’s no money for these
kinds of companies with no
earnings with only a hope of
developing something down the
road years in advance and
frankly is American venture
capital American investors
American stock market in these
company in these exact is all
told me Greg, we could not have
done this without America and
we could not have done this
without the help of these
investors in in in the from a
huge surprise we quickly got
about 5060’s percent up which
seem to be stuck around 70% of
the country get into shot to
get ready to go.
>> Are you surprised some
skepticism and would you say to
skeptics listening right now.
So I would say and I try to
emphasize we’re not doctors but
you did you did you might as
well be after this book you
just wrote I’m no doctor
whatsoever, but I talked
scientists and I talked to.
>> Many people there are not
political I really try to
emphasize people that are
just experience and the
experience that time of the
year that went into these
vaccines needs to be
appreciated and that indeed the
remarkable affecting us also
needs to give it a shot.
>> To save the world Greg
Zuckerman has done it again