Spike

As head of the Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar was one of the first people in the world to hear about a mysterious new respiratory disease in China – and to learn that it could readily spread between people. A member of the SAGE emergency committee, Farrar was a key decision-maker at the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic amid great uncertainty, fast-moving situations and missed opportunities.

Spike is the inside story of how the virus played out and how the world set about dealing with it. His book casts light on the UK government’s claims to be ‘following the science’ in its response to the virus, and is informed not just by Farrar’s views but by interviews with other top scientists and political figures.