Summary

In Chapter 3, “The Pandemic Thinker,” the first draft of the United States’ “plan to fight a pandemic” was drafted in October 2005 by Rajeev Venkayya. George W. Bush became interested in developing a plan after reading John Barry’s The Great Influenza. Afterwards, he met with Rajeev. Ever since medical school, Rajeev had wanted “to do something bigger” (51). In 2005, he was the head of the Biodefense Directorate for the Homeland Security Council. He and Bush discussed the country’s strategy for containing viral threats. Throughout his work, Rajeev marveled at “how fast [the federal government] could move—when the president was pissed” (53).

At the start of his pandemic planning project, Rajeev “was given permission to hire seven people,” the first of whom was Richard Hatchett, “another doctor who had . . . moved into government service” (54). Richard then “entered the subculture of federal emergency response” (56). Like Rajeev...