World War C: Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic and How to Prepare for the Next One

“Despite our twenty-first-century medicine, glitzy computer modeling, and pandemic planning, we weren’t ready” for Covid-19, warns CNN’s chief medical correspondent Gupta (Keep Sharp) in this hope-filled survey. Gupta summarizes what the world got wrong in its response and lays out what can be done better next time—missteps include mixed-messaging from officials about mask effectiveness, a “lack of truth telling among our leaders,” and a failure to enforce social distancing soon enough. The American death toll from Covid could have been much less had the right steps been taken in time, Gupta contends, and that preventable aspect adds urgency to his prescriptions for next steps, usefully framed as the acronym PROOF—plan ahead, rethink and rewire risk in your brain, optimize health, organize family, and fight for the future of us. This five-point plan urges readers and governments alike: countries should make significant investments in universal vaccines that fight all coronaviruses and take a more global approach to vaccinations that prioritizes those at risk, while individuals will learn about how nutrition and eating well can arm them against pandemics. Realistic but never doom-and-gloom, this lands as a refreshing look forward. Agent: Bob Barnett, Williams & Connolly. (Oct.)