The Long Shot

On 3 April 2020, Kate Bingham was told that the likelihood of any Covid-19 vaccine working was 15% at best. But on 8 December 2020, the first NHS patient received a vaccine. Now over 141 million vaccine doses have been administered. What lies behind this staggering success story? Lockdowns are lifted and we can finally see a way to live with Covid.
From a small cottage, Bingham juggled vaccine suppliers, Whitehall, the media circus - and her daughter's exams. Political manoeuvring, miscommunications and administrative meddling nearly jeopardised the project. But perseverance paid off: the overwhelming majority of Britons are fully vaccinated. This is an unmissable insider view into how the Vaccine Taskforce beat the odds and pulled off the biggest vaccination campaign in Britain's history.