Within weeks of the first cases of a "mysterious pneumonia-like illness" being reported in Wuhan, China, public health leaders were convening to assess the threat and shore up systems to mitigate the potential harm to come. This work started unfolding months before COVID-19 would be officially declared a pandemic.
Dr. Seth Berkley — a renowned infectious-disease epidemiologist and former CEO of Gavi, an international organization aimed at improving children's vaccine access — was one figure at the forefront of the effort to ensure future COVID-19 vaccines would be distributed to the world's poorest nations. In his new book "Fair Doses: An Insider's Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity" (University of California Press, 2025), Berkley recounts those pandemic-era efforts and reflects on what went right and what went wrong.
