• oakey66@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    If we were a reasonable country, we’d have a research arm of the FDA that was employing scientists/chemists to develop drugs for the most basic health needs of its citizens and dispensing them at cost to keep drugs affordable but developing cures versus disease maintenance drugs. It was something that Elizabeth Warren proposed in 2016 that was absolutely the right thing to run on.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinese-scientists-cure-diabetes-using-205304771.html

    But we live in a hellish American landscape where our government does absolutely the bare minimum amount of support for those in need. And does so begrudgingly.

    • homura1650@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      For vaccines, we shouldn’t even be dispensing them at cost. Vaccinations are the second most cost effective public health intervention ever, beaten only by clean drinking water.

      In purely financial terms, the cost of vaccinations are lower than the average cost to the US tax payer of someone getting sick. The public service of people not getting sick is a nice bonus. As is reducing the chances of this becoming another Covid style economic catastrophe (plus, again, the public service of protecting your citizens)

    • Verito@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      And does so begrudgingly.

      Totally willing to help the very needy…pharma bros get a piece of that sweet, sweet government pie. Why let government do anything when outsourcing to private capital helps me buy my yach…er…feed my kids.