Uncontrolled Spread audiobook cover - Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic
Theme Song

Uncontrolled Spread

Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic

Scott Gottlieb

★ 3.9 / 5(204 ratings)
Start ListeningDownloadQR code that opens AudiobookHub on the App StoreTry free on iPhoneScan to start in 5 seconds
Categories:
SciencePolitics

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to Uncontrolled Spread — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Uncontrolled Spread

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Uncontrolled Spread

Mind Map

Uncontrolled Spread
Information Failures+
Flawed Preparedness+
CDC Shortcomings+
Government Mismanagement+
The South Korean Model+
Vaccines & National Security+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
What early claim by China and the WHO contributed to the initial underestimation of the COVID-19 threat?
  • A. The virus was a highly contagious airborne pathogen that could not be contained.
  • B. The outbreak was only infecting people who had been exposed to a specific animal source.
  • C. The virus was a mutated strain of the H5N1 avian flu.
  • D. The pathogen was spreading rapidly through asymptomatic human carriers.
Question 2 of 7
Why were the United States' initial pandemic protocols a mismatch for the COVID-19 outbreak?
  • A. They were designed primarily to combat waterborne diseases and bacterial infections.
  • B. They relied heavily on foreign intelligence agencies to detect incoming pathogens.
  • C. They were built around responding to a flu-like outbreak or an act of bioterrorism.
  • D. They were based exclusively on the rapid deployment of mRNA vaccines.
Question 3 of 7
According to the text, why was the CDC fundamentally ill-suited to lead the rapid response to the COVID-19 crisis?
  • A. It is a backward-looking agency built for methodical investigation rather than rapid manufacturing.
  • B. Its budget had been completely eliminated in the years immediately preceding the pandemic.
  • C. It lacked the legal authority to communicate directly with state governments and hospitals.
  • D. It was exclusively staffed by political appointees rather than medical professionals.
Question 4 of 7
What was a major cause of the severe testing bottleneck in the US during the early days of the pandemic?
  • A. The FDA banned all private companies from developing any medical diagnostics.
  • B. The US government refused to purchase testing materials from overseas suppliers.
  • C. Hospitals refused to administer tests due to the high risk of infecting their staff.
  • D. The CDC tightly guarded virus samples and required all early tests to be sent to its own facilities for processing.
Question 5 of 7
Once rapid antigen tests were finally approved and purchased by the US government, what logistical error hindered their effectiveness?
  • A. They were exclusively distributed to military bases instead of civilian hospitals.
  • B. They were sent to high-risk facilities like nursing homes, which actually required the more accurate PCR tests.
  • C. They were shipped overseas to allied nations before domestic needs were met.
  • D. They required specialized refrigeration that most clinics did not possess.
Question 6 of 7
Why was South Korea significantly better prepared to handle the COVID-19 outbreak than the United States?
  • A. They had recently developed a universal coronavirus vaccine.
  • B. They had learned from a serious 2015 MERS outbreak and established fast-track testing and stockpiles.
  • C. They had completely closed their borders to international travel in late 2019.
  • D. They had a younger population that was naturally immune to respiratory viruses.
Question 7 of 7
The author argues that public health must now be treated as a matter of national security. Which of the following events mentioned in the text supports this argument?
  • A. Foreign espionage targeting vaccine data and international smear campaigns against competing vaccines.
  • B. The realization that global travel cannot be restricted under international law.
  • C. The refusal of the World Health Organization to accept funding from the United States.
  • D. The discovery that the virus was a genetically engineered bioweapon deployed by terrorists.

Uncontrolled Spread — Full Chapter Overview

Uncontrolled Spread Summary & Overview

Uncontrolled Spread (2021) takes an unsparing look at the many problems the United States faced when confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Through a combination of factors, the US was unprepared for what occurred. But it’s possible to learn from this tragedy and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

Who Should Listen to Uncontrolled Spread?

  • People keen to learn more about the US’s response to the COVID pandemic
  • Anyone interested in how we can be more prepared against future threats

About the Author: Scott Gottlieb

Scott Gottlieb is the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in the US. He is also a contributor to CNBC and sits on the board of directors at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and is considered one of the “50 People Transforming Healthcare” by Time magazine.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App
Uncontrolled SpreadTheme Song
NOW PLAYING
Uncontrolled Spread

Uncontrolled Spread

Theme Song
0:000:00