Summary

In Chapter 10, “The Bug in the System,” Joe DeRisi realized that the Red Phone could “reveal big, systemic problems,” even if it was an inefficient “tool for saving lives” (241). A call from California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, proved this to Joe. Newsom was calling about the need for a COVID-19 testing solution. The men agreed it was “the only way” to find and predict the virus’s movements (242).

Realizing that the CDC “wasn’t going to solve the problem,” Joe decided to transform the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub into a testing center (243). An army of graduate students and postdocs volunteered to aid the effort without pay (243). Joe and his team began developing testing machines, often frustrated that “financial ambition interfered with science and progress” (246). One of the team’s primary obstacles was securing necessary supplies. The Strategic National Stockpile did not have any...