Lost Immunity

A Thriller

Daniel Kalla

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781982150150
• eBook ISBN: 9781982150167
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Crime & Mystery Literature
• Index: Literature

*Instant National Bestseller

In this explosive new thriller from international bestselling author Daniel Kalla, an experimental vaccine is deployed to battle a lethal outbreak—until patients start dying of unknown causes.

An ordinary day
The city of Seattle is stunned when a deadly bacteria tears through a nearby Bible camp. Early tests reveal the illness is a form of meningitis, and the camp’s residents are among its most vulnerable victims: children and teenagers.

A new vaccine
Facing a rapidly rising death rate, Seattle’s chief public health officer, Lisa Dyer, and her team quickly take all steps necessary to contain the devastating outbreak. And when further testing reveals that the strain of the bacteria is one that caused catastrophic losses in Iceland six months before, Lisa decides to take a drastic step: she contacts Nathan Hull, vice president of a pharmaceutical company that is doing final-phase trials on a viable vaccine, and asks him to release it early for use on the city’s population.

An epidemic in the making
Lisa gets the go-ahead on her controversial plan, despite the protests of dubious government officials, anti-vaxxers, and even those on her own team. Vaccine clinics roll out across the city, and the risky strategy appears to be working, leaving Lisa, Nathan, and thousands of others breathing a sigh of relief. Until people start dying from mysterious and horrific causes—and the vaccine itself is implicated.

But what if science isn’t to blame?

CHAPTER 1

They’re well dressed. Polite. Attentive. And like any good predators, they’re preparing to pounce.

Lisa Dyer read the mood in the packed auditorium the moment she stepped up to the lectern. She has been Seattle’s chief public health officer for only a few months, but Lisa understands these community health forums go with the territory. Usually, they’re stress-free events. Fun, even, in a nerdy kind of way. Rarely are they anywhere near as well attended as this one.

Or as controversial.

The new policy she has come to present isn’t even her brainchild. It came directly from the state legislature via the governor’s office in Olympia. But this audience is unlikely to focus on such distinctions. Many of them appear poised to shoot the messenger.

Lisa appreciates that not all the attendees are hostile. A number have come to support, or at least to learn more about the new law that mandates immunization for all middle-school-aged girls and boys with the newest HPV vaccine. But she isn’t surprised by the public outcry. Among the anti-vaxxers—or the “vaccine hesitancy” community, as most prefer to be known—the HPV vaccine might be the most outrage-inducing one of all. She has already heard an earful from her own sister yesterday about the new policy. She can’t even imagine how her dad would react to it, nor does she intend to find out.

The rumblings grow throughout her talk, and even before Lisa clicks on the final slide on her presentation, hands shoot up throughout the crowd. Mentally bracing for the onslaught, she points to a willowy woman with a rainbow headband in the second row, who has already sprung to her feet.

“You used the word ‘safe.’ Safe?” The woman’s voice cracks. “How can you say that when we all know what happened to Cody Benson.”

The case of the Utah teenager had become a rallying point for the activists after he died a year earlier from a progressive spinal condition a few weeks after receiving the HPV vaccine.

“What happened to him is tragic,” Lisa says. “But there’s no definitive proof his transverse myelitis was related to his vaccination.”

“How can you even say that?” the woman asks, visibly trembling. “He was dead within two weeks of getting that shot!”

And if he had been hit by a truck two weeks after his injection, would you still blame the vaccine? Lisa thinks. But she understands how emotional the cause is for some, having grown up with like-minded people in her own family. She views the woman solemnly. “In medicine, timing is not always evidence of causality. In other words, just because two things happen near the same time, it doesn’t mean the first is responsible for the second. Millions of kids have been immunized so far. And we’ve only seen a handful cases of degenerative neurological disease among them.”

“But you have seen them!”

“Yes, but the rate is no higher than among nonvaccinated children. Which tells us there is no link.”

Shaking her head in what appears to be disgust, the woman drops back into her seat.

“You talk about your right to protect the community,” another voice calls out from somewhere in the middle of the auditorium. “What about our right to choose? And our individual rights to protect our own children?”

Lisa scans the rows to spot the questioner, a brunette whose outstretched hand reveals a glimmering rock on her ring finger that’s big enough to be seen from the podium. “All the medical evidence suggests that’s just what this HPV vaccine will do,” Lisa says. “Protect your children. From developing cervical cancer, of which there are forty-three thousand new cases every year in the US.”

“Evidence planted by the drug companies to protect their profits!” someone else calls out from near the back of the room.

Lisa takes a breath. “No. Evidence such as the massive population study in Denmark that reviewed a million vaccinated children and found no increase in adverse outcomes compared to the general population.”

“With enough money and influence, you can buy any result you want!”

And so it goes. It was as if she hadn’t bothered to give her carefully crafted, data-filled presentation that reviewed the many benefits of the vaccine and debunked the myths about its risks. A few people in the audience voice their support. And there are moments of infighting among the crowd. But for the most part, Lisa faces a flurry of emotional outbursts that are as disconnected from logic or science as she could imagine. One distraught woman even raises the old myth about how a vaccine that prevents sexually transmitted cancer will lead to promiscuity. It feels like being back at her parents’ dinner table.

Lisa points to the man in the front row who has been patiently holding his arm up for the past while. In a blazer and jeans with hair gelled back and wire-rimmed glasses on, he reminds Lisa of the physiology professor she had a crush on in medical school.

“Excellent presentation, Dr. Dyer.” The man’s self-assured grin and square jaw evoke even stronger memories of her old prof. “Thank you for taking the time to share such important information on such a vital threat.”

“You’re welcome,” Lisa says. But his use of the word threat raises her guard. “Did you have a question?”

“A few, as a matter of fact,” he says, rising languidly to his feet. “You covered a lot of ground in your slideshow. But there were a number of things you left out. For example, the more recent Danish study that found a link between the vaccine and neurologic complications.”

“That was a study of only thirty-five participants. And the EMA—the European equivalent of the FDA—found no evidence to support its claim.”

“And yet, the American College of Pediatrics claims that this vaccine is responsible for numerous bad outcomes, all confirmed through the VAERS database.”

“That database—the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System—is only for self-reporting vaccine reactions.”

“Exactly,” he says. “Real reported cases, not nebulous population studies.”

“We use the VAERS database to identify potential patterns of reactions.” For the first time, Lisa struggles to keep the exasperation from her tone. Breathe. “But picking and choosing individual entries from VAERS is like substituting bad Yelp reviews for scientific evidence.”

A ripple of chuckles run through the room.

The man only shrugs. “All right, then why did the Japanese government suspend the very same program that you are now proposing?”

“That was a political decision.”

“And this isn’t?” He frowns. “After the Japanese vaccination program was introduced, didn’t they see a spike of neurologic diseases among the vaccinated? Memory loss, chronic pain, seizures? Some children lost the ability to walk.”

“Again, all self-reported. Never verified in studies.”

“But they did happen, Dr. Dyer.”

He goes on to cite other studies, most of which Lisa recognizes as being tainted by pseudoscience, bias, or outright fraudulent data.

Five senses, she reminds herself as he speaks. The mindfulness exercise has been her latest coping skill at home as the fights had worsened.

Sight: the ring of condensation along the rim of her water glass. Sound: the silky cadence of the man’s voice. Feel: the lectern against her fingertips. Smell: the faint scent of her own perfume—vanilla and tonka bean—OK, I might have stolen that one right off the label Taste: the residual mint from her toothpaste.

Feeling calmer, Lisa waits for the man to finish. “We could argue all day over the quality and accuracy of the evidence,” she says. “But the truth is that every major academic body has reviewed the data and endorsed the safety and effectiveness of the HPV vaccine. And I respect that kind of science.”

“I’m extremely respectful of science, too. After all, I’m also a doctor. A naturopath.” He pauses. “But academics aren’t always right, are they? Science changes. Mendel’s theory of genetics was dismissed as nonsense by his contemporaries. Copernicus was ridiculed for suggesting the earth revolved around the sun. The examples go on and on.”

Lisa almost smiles. He’s doing what they do so well. Twist real facts and examples to support their unsupportable beliefs. Their religion. She might as well be arguing with a flat-earther or a climate-change denier.

“Listen, Doctor…?”

“Balfour. Max, please.”

“Dr. Balfour, you’ve obviously done your research. But cervical cancer is a devastating disease that kills thousands of young women every year. And it’s one of the few cancers we can actually prevent. Wouldn’t you want to protect your daughter from that?”

“I don’t have a daughter. But I do have a son.” The smile leaves his lips, and his gaze drifts downward. “When Jack was one, I wanted to protect him from everything, Dr. Dyer. But right after we gave him the measles vaccine, he developed autism.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “And, maybe, that’s what I really should have been protecting him from all along.”

Several people in the audience break into spontaneous applause.

Before Lisa can respond, her phone buzzes on the lectern. She can’t help but glance down at the health advisory from her office that pops up on the screen. “Four dead from meningitis. All attended the same local Bible camp.”

CHAPTER 2

The sudden brilliance jerks Kayla from sleep. The violent glare is brighter than a floodlight and bores into her temples as sharply as needles. She flops over and buries her face into the mattress until the blaze subsides.

Kayla was up late texting with Connor, her first boyfriend. She had almost lost her virginity with him the previous week at camp. She was willing to, ready to, even though she understood it was a sin. It would’ve happened, too, if their cabin counselor, Nicola, hadn’t stumbled upon them alone in the woods, tucked inside the same sleeping bag and stripped down to their underwear. Luckily, Nicola was cool about it and didn’t report them to the camp director, who would’ve freaked.

But last night’s texts with Connor had nothing to do with their sexual near miss. No. Apparently, Emma and Joseph had been taken to the hospital. The news flooded social media. It was serious, people were saying. And in Connor’s last text, he mentioned that his head was beginning to throb, too. He hasn’t responded to any of Kayla’s messages since.

Waking more fully, Kayla gingerly rotates her head and realizes the brightness comes only from the morning sunshine that leaks through and around the drapes.

The light sensitivity and the nausea are even worse than the headache. Unless she tries to move her neck. The slightest bend jolts her like a boot to the back of the head.

Kayla trembles violently and wraps the blanket tighter to fight off the sudden cold.

Do I have it? The realization brings a chill that’s unrelated to her rising temperature. Just like Emma and Joseph?

The panic wells along with the nausea.

Meningitis!

A rumor is circulating on social media that Joseph is already dead.

Kayla tastes the bitterness of her own vomit as it erupts up into her throat.

Oh God, am I next?

CHAPTER 3

Despite the clamoring audience at the HPV vaccine forum, as soon as she receives the health alert on her phone Lisa cuts the session short and hurries out to her car. On the way, she confirms with her office that not only have four teenagers died from meningitis, but three others are critically ill and barely hanging on in the intensive care unit.

The city basks under radiant blue skies and a benign sun, but Lisa is oblivious to the near-perfect late-summer day. As she drives southeast toward the hospital, away from the shadows of the Seattle Municipal Tower and other downtown high-rises, her mind is consumed with potential containment and communication strategies. She has no doubt Seattle is facing another public-health crisis. Meningitis outbreaks always are. The victims are inevitably young, especially teenagers, and the collective fear induced is often even more contagious than the pathogen responsible for the infection.

Her Bluetooth phone rings through the car’s speaker, and expecting more news from the office, she answers before checking the name on the screen. She regrets picking up the moment she hears her husband’s voice.

“Hi, Lees.”

“Oh, Dom. Hi. Can I call you back? Just dealing with an emergency.”

“A public-health emergency?” Dominic asks.

Maybe she only imagines condescension in his tone. Perhaps, these days, she just expects judgment even where there is none. Regardless, she can’t suppress the flicker of hurt. But she keeps it from her voice. “For real. I’m almost at the hospital. Can I call you back?”

“I just wondered if you wanted to carpool to our session today,” Dominic says.

Shit! She had forgotten about their appointment. Originally, she was the one who had cajoled Dominic int...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Chapter 26
• Chapter 27
• Chapter 28
• Chapter 29
• Chapter 30
• Chapter 31
• Chapter 32
• Chapter 33
• Chapter 34
• Chapter 35
• Chapter 36
• Chapter 37
• Chapter 38
• Chapter 39
• Chapter 40
• Chapter 41
• Chapter 42
• Chapter 43
• Chapter 44
• Chapter 45
• Chapter 46
• Chapter 47
• Chapter 48
• Chapter 49
• Chapter 50
• Chapter 51
• Chapter 52
• Chapter 53
• Chapter 54
• Chapter 55
• Chapter 56
• Chapter 57
• Chapter 58
• Chapter 59
• Chapter 60
• Chapter 61
• Chapter 62
• Chapter 63
• Chapter 64
• Author’s Note
• Acknowledgments
• ‘Fit to Die’ Teaser
• About the Author
• Copyright