Pandemic Insights: Barry Ritholtz Interviews Charity Dean
Those who were closely watching the outbreak of mysterious infections in Wuhan, China, back in 2019 began to worry, early on, about the possibility of a global pandemic. We watched Taiwan close their airport to Wuhan flights one day after the December 30, 2019, news release about a novel virus in Wuhan. We immediately poured many hours then and in all the months since into research to better anticipate the trajectory and the impacts of this new virus that would ultimately rock global economies, catapult us all out of our old normal, and claim millions of lives worldwide. I recall speaking at the ETF conference in Ft. Lauderdale in January, 2020, and being the only person walking around with a facemask. There were 2300 people from around the world at a conference in Florida: no defense or mitigation. I recall asking Matt Hougan to join me in wearing a mask on the stage when he introduced me.
The rest is history. We’ve spoken about it and written about it many times.
Now the full story is gradually coming out. In his invaluable book Premonition: A Pandemic Story, Michael Lewis traces the extraordinary efforts of a remarkable cast of characters who grasped, early on, that a pandemic was underway and who utilized technology, data and insight to craft an effective response. And they watched mitigation efforts fall apart in the US. We cannot recommend Lewis’s book highly enough. It is essential to thinking about both the past and the road ahead. Here’s a link: https://www.amazon.com/Premonition-Pandemic-Story-Michael-Lewis/dp/0393881555/.
Lewis delivers the riveting backstory behind what we witnessed and still endure. While he recognizes the role of politics, Lewis focuses sharply on the inertia and the fragmentation of the American response. He reveals why our underfunded, patchworked healthcare system and our lead-footed bureaucracy in governments at all levels failed. He particularly documents the sequential errors of the CDC
Lewis introduces us to Dr. Charity Dean, a county public health officer in Santa Barbara, California, who brings all the right instincts, passion, and training to her job and who experiences the “premonition” that gives Lewis his title. Charity Dean’s story of persistence, diligence, and action is compelling and is truthfully told. Folks: this is not fiction; this is a documentary that will compel you to keep reading until you finish the book.
My long-time friend and Camp Kotok regular Barry Ritholtz just aired his own memorable interview (Bloomberg) with Charity Dean this past weekend. Dean meritoriously ascended to become the director of the California Department of Public Health in the midst of the COVID explosion. She is now the founder of The Public Health Company, a private-sector solution she has designed, in collaboration with others, to enable institutions, including businesses, “to more effectively prevent, detect, and contain communicable disease threats” (https://www.thepublichealthco.com). Disclosure: I have no investment in her company. We recommend you spend a few minutes on the company website.
Here’s the link to the interview, which is part of Barry’s not-to-be-missed Masters in Business Series: https://ritholtz.com/category/podcast/mib/. Whether or not you have read Michael Lewis’s book yet, you will find this interview riveting and enlightening. It will add to your understanding of the last year; and it will give you guidance for the future with your organization in mind.
David R. Kotok
Chairman of the Board & Chief Investment Officer
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