by Daniel Kalla
“Here? So you’re not leaving Delaware?”
“Nowhere else to go.” He would love to explain it to her, but he can’t. “I just won’t be overseeing the day-to-day operations on Neissovax anymore. I’ll connect you and Sonya via email this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” she says. “All things considered, the relaunch of the campaign has gone smoothly, wouldn’t you say?”
“Better than I expected, for sure. Obviously, we’re still fighting a headwind on the publicity front, but back at Delaware they’re pretty pleased.”
She eyes him knowingly. “Its share price has rebounded well in the past week, hasn’t it?”
“For now. Let’s see what happens after the class-action suits are launched for the damage Fiona inflicted.”
“Have you had any contact with her?”
“No,” he says nonchalantly, hiding his conflicted feelings. He hates Fiona for what she did, but he can’t help missing his friend and confidante. And a small part of him empathizes with her desire to make Delaware pay. “I talked to her attorney. Apparently, Fiona hasn’t spoken to anyone while in custody, not even him.”
Lisa nods. “The night we caught her, she swore Peter Moore was behind the hack of the website and the cover-up of Darius’s death.”
“Did she have proof?”
“No. And in almost the same breath that she accused him of masterminding the hack, she also made up a story about some doctored European study to frame Peter for the adverse reactions.”
“Hard to know what to believe, huh?”
“Or whom.” Lisa stares hard at him. “It doesn’t make any sense for Fiona to have been involved in the cover-up. She wanted those reactions to come to light.”
“You still think it was me?”
“The FBI is investigating. But I get the feeling the tracks are too well covered. Not sure we’ll ever find out who was behind it.”
He’s silent for a long moment before he stands. “With all the terrible stuff that happened after the launch, you were the one bright spot in all this. I really respect you. I enjoyed working with you, Lisa. And the time we spent together.” He meets her eyes. “I’m sorry it had to end like it did.”
She shows him a hurt smile. “I wish it had been different, too, Nathan.”
He lingers in her gaze a brief moment, before he finally turns to go.
A tinge of melancholy accompanies him as he trudges down the hallway and out of the Public Health office.
It could have been all so different. Especially with Lisa.
But Nathan is glad to be heading home to his boys. Not to the office, though. He’s dreading what punitive reassignment Peter will have in store for him. Leaving Delaware isn’t an option. Peter has him over a barrel, as he hasn’t been hesitant to remind him.
Nathan would give anything to go back and do it over again. It was such a pivotal time. Everything hung in the balance. He was convinced Darius’s death was a tragic coincidence and not caused by the vaccine—and time had proven him right, technically—but he also understood that word of it would destroy the campaign. So Nathan had his dark web IT consultant purge the report on Darius, which he would’ve never done if he had any inkling of the other serious reactions that were to follow.
Maybe, from a criminal perspective, he got away with it. Maybe. But what’s done is done.
In the process, he sacrificed a piece of himself and his soul.
And for what? It changed nothing. And cost so much.
CHAPTER 64
The thirtieth-floor, northwest-facing condo is a quarter of the size of the home Lisa left behind, but she doesn’t mind. The house always felt too big for just Dominic and her. She’s happy to have traded all the unused space for the view from her new place. Last night, she got butterflies standing on the balcony and watching the sun set behind the Space Needle and the Olympic Mountains beyond Elliott Bay, against a fuchsia sky.
The condo is finally furnished, but the unopened boxes scattered on the living room floor and piled against the far wall represent a problem that the bedrooms and bathrooms also share.
“What are you going for here?” Amber gently kicks at the box by her foot. “Warehouse chic?”
“Yeah, Tee,” Olivia chimes in. “When are you going to unpack?”
Lisa sweeps Olivia up in her arms. “Why do you think I invited you over, brat?” She plants kisses over her niece’s forehead.
Giggling, Oliva wriggles free of her grip. “I don’t know how to,” she says as she lands on the ground.
“You don’t want to decorate your room, then?” Lisa asks, referring to the condo’s second bedroom.
“I do! I do!”
“Then you better get drawing. We’ll need a lot more pictures for your walls.”
“I’m on it, Tee!” Olivia spins and scurries off for the bedroom, where she left her markers and paper.
Amber motions to the pile. “It’s been three weeks since you moved in, hasn’t it?”
“Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been kind of busy,” Lisa says.
“That’s the only reason?”
“I’m happy here, Amber. Honestly. Happier than I’ve been in long time. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Then let’s make it look a bit more permanent.”
“That’s the plan.” Lisa sits down on the rug, reaches for a box, and uses the blade of her scissors to slice through the packing tape.
Amber kneels down beside her and helps remove wrapped objects from inside the open box. She stands a pair of candles up on the coffee table, but her hand freezes when she pulls the paper off a framed photo.
Without looking over, Lisa realizes it must be the photo from the holiday office party, the Christmas before last. In it, Lisa stands at a microphone, shoulder to shoulder with a flushed and beaming Angela, both of them looking more than a little tipsy in their elf hats. The staff gave Angela and Lisa framed copies at last year’s party and insisted on a repeat performance of their doctored version of the holiday classic “Baby, It’s Cold (and Flu Season) Outside.”
Amber stands the frame in the center of the coffee table, glancing over to Lisa, who nods her approval.
“Hey, I read that piece in the Seattle Times about you,” Amber says. “How you single-handedly beat the outbreak and the anti-vaxxers, despite the criminal conspiracy.”
“Not too much sensationalism there,” Lisa groans. “A load of crap, anyway.”
“Why’s that?”
“We haven’t beaten anything. Definitely not this outbreak.”
“It’s not over, then?”
“It’s contained. That’s all.”
“What’s the difference?”
“We haven’t had a new case of meningitis in almost two weeks. That’s good news. No question. But fifty-one dead, Amber? Mainly kids. In less than two months…” Lisa exhales, experiencing a familiar gnawing in the pit of her stomach at the thought. “It can spring back up again, anytime. You can’t declare an outbreak like this over until at least a year has elapsed without a case.”
“What if everyone gets vaccinated?”
“Will never happen. Right now we’re at about sixty percent of the target population. We’d need another twenty-five percent before we reach a level of herd immunity that would protect the public.”
“As long as some people think like that naturopath, you’ll never get everyone on board.”
“Some of them will never be convinced, despite all the science in the world.” Lisa sighs. The thought of Max depresses her. The man isn’t wanting for intelligence, understanding, or even empathy. But he has glommed on to an explanation—flawed as it is—for the unexplainable thing that happened to his son. It wasn’t much different in Fiona’s case. For them, as for others, “vaccine injury” represents the bogeyman they can blame for the random and cruel twists fate foisted on them and their loved ones.
“How about you?” Lisa asks.
“You really need me to say it again?” Amber s
ighs. “Fine. You were right.”
“No. Not that. Has your overall opinion of vaccines changed?”
Amber thinks for a moment. “Maybe. A little. I still have my concerns, but…”
“Yes?”
“Allen and I are considering getting Olivia the measles shot.”
Lisa can’t fight off her smile. There’s something so validating in her sister’s concession.
“I only said we’re considering it…” Amber emphasizes. “By the way, Mom and Dad read the article, too.”
“They read the Times?”
“No. I emailed it to Mom.”
“And?”
“Mom’s very proud of you.”
“Not Dad, of course.”
“He still thinks you’re dead wrong about the whole vaccine thing.” Amber chuckles. “But he did say that you can count on a Dyer to get the job done.”
Lisa’s grin only grows. She can’t remember the last time she impressed her father, if ever.
“What about you, Lisa?”
“I’m still pretty sold on vaccines,” she says, even though she knows that’s not what her sister is getting at.
“You’re not missing Dom?”
“Sometimes,” Lisa admits. It has been strange to wake up every morning alone in bed. There are times she even misses the low growl of Dominic’s snoring. But the one thing she hasn’t experienced is regret.
“I’m more excited about the next phase of my life.” Lisa laughs self-consciously. “Whatever the hell that is going to bring.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Among the Himalayas of medical controversies, perhaps none looms as large as the debate over the benefits versus the risks of vaccination. In writing Lost Immunity, I realized I was wading into contentious waters. But my aim as a writer has always been to educate while entertaining, to help humanize health crises, and to guide an understanding of the complexities that surround specific disease processes.
Through this novel, I was determined to impart vital information about vaccines, and those who are skeptical of them, from a place of both expertise and compassion. Like most medical doctors, I view vaccination to be among the greatest achievements of modern medicine. I won’t delve into the extensive research on the topic, but science is not on the side of the vaccine hesitancy (or anti-vax) movement. The evidence in favor of vaccines is incontrovertible.
However, traditional science is not what drives anti-vaxxers. There are numerous intelligent, informed, well-meaning people who have a deep aversion to vaccination, especially when it comes to their own children. They’re aware of the rare side effects caused by vaccines. And they tend to rely on association or anecdotal evidence rather than traditional science to support their beliefs. Oftentimes, they connect their own personal tragedies—such as a loved one with autism—back to a vaccination event. Moreover, vaccine hesitancy is a broad umbrella that encompasses a spectrum of heterogenous beliefs, from those who will accept many but not all vaccines to those who vehemently oppose any form of vaccination.
But the fundamental concern to the vast pro-vaccine majority is that, while everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, those who refuse to buy into traditional vaccination programs impact more than just themselves or their loved ones. For a vaccine to be effective, it depends on the concept of herd immunity. Generally speaking, we need at least seventy percent of a community to develop immunity to an infectious threat in order to thwart its natural spread.
Never has this subject been more relevant than today. With the race on to achieve herd immunity against the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccination, global acceptance of a vaccine will be essential to stop this horrific disease.
Aside from entertaining and, hopefully, thrilling readers, I wrote this novel as an allegory for the debate over vaccines. That can be a delicate balancing act when it comes to an issue as emotionally fraught as vaccinations, and I hope I present both sides in a fair and compassionate light. No vaccine is entirely perfect. Any medication carries some risks. But at the end of the day, I wholly believe there is only one right answer in this crucial debate.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people consider writing to be a solitary pursuit, but for me that has never been true. From the first inkling of an idea to the final draft, I work collaboratively with friends, colleagues, editors, and loved ones, bouncing ideas off them and inundating them with pages. This novel is no exception. It’s impossible to acknowledge all those who helped me along the way, but there are several I do have to credit.
While this is a work of fiction, the issues at the heart of it—public health, epidemics, and vaccination—are very real. And I was fortunate to be able to lean on two world-class experts, Drs. Patricia Daly and Victor Leung, to ensure I got those details right.
I am blessed to have such an insightful, creative, and like-minded editor in Laurie Grassi, who works tirelessly to bring out the best in my writing. Two other talented editors—Jasmine Elliott in Toronto and Anne Perry in London—also helped to hone this story.
I’m thrilled to further my collaboration with the caring folks at Simon & Schuster, including Jillian Levick, Nita Pronovost, Gregory Tilney, David Millar, Felicia Quon, and Kevin Hanson. And I’m grateful for the guidance of my agents, Henry Morrison and Danny Baror.
As always, I want to thank you, the readers, who inspire me to continue writing. I hope this novel will shed some light on a vital public health issue and help to separate some of the myths from the facts.
More from the Author
The Last High
We All Fall Down
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
©Michael Bednar Photography
DANIEL KALLA is the international bestselling author of novels including The Last High and We All Fall Down. His previous book The Last High was an instant bestseller. Kalla practices emergency medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit him at danielkalla.com or follow him on Twitter @DanielKalla.
SimonandSchuster.ca
www.SimonandSchuster.ca/Authors/Daniel-Kalla
@SimonSchusterCA
ALSO BY DANIEL KALLA
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We All Fall Down
Nightfall Over Shanghai
Rising Sun, Falling Shadow
The Far Side of the Sky
Of Flesh and Blood
Cold Plague
Blood Lies
Rage Therapy
Resistance
Pandemic
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Daniel Kalla
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Lost immunity / Daniel Kalla.
Names: Kalla, Daniel, author.
Description: Simon & Schuster Canada edition.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 2020028343X | Canadiana (ebook) 20200283448 | ISBN 9781982150150 (softcover) | ISBN 9781982150167 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PS8621.A47 L67 2021 | DDC C813/.6—dc23
ISBN 978-1-9821-5015-0
ISBN 978-1-9821-5016-7 (ebook)