Vaccine: White House hinders pharmaceutical innovation

I am a healthcare professional, and my patients are older Washingtonians in the high-risk category for COVID-19. Working during a pandemic has been challenging and I look forward to the day when the virus is no longer a threat.

That will not happen until we have a vaccine. It’s been difficult to watch the politicization of the pandemic that distracts from the vaccine development process.

US biopharmaceutical scientists are hard at work so that we don’t have to live in fear. Our elected leaders should be supporting these efforts, not creating more obstacles.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what the White House is doing with the most favored nation executive order. This policy implements government price setting and alters portions of Medicare.

Now is not the time to make those types of changes. I will be voting this November for candidates who support the work of scientists and US biopharmaceutical companies.

What we need is a vaccine and treatments for COVID-19 and smart policies that will help address the cost of prescription drugs. The most favored nation executive order doesn’t do this.

This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Vaccine: White House hinders pharmaceutical innovation."