Leaders must act to control cost of COVID-19 vaccine
When I was only 13 years old, my parents bore the crushing financial burden of my sickle cell anemia and end-stage renal disease care. This medical and financial hardship has followed me into my 30s, and now impacts my own family that I’m raising in Jacksonville as the pharmaceutical companies demand exorbitant prices for the drugs that make it possible for me to care for my daughter.
The government’s unwillingness to take action on drug pricing has been the struggle of my life, and if the Trump Administration leaves control over the accessibility and affordability of the COVID-19 vaccine in the hands of the largest pharmaceutical companies, it may be yours as well.
The pharma industry has shown that it will increase the cost of critical medications such as Epipens and insulin each year far above the rate of inflation and the drug’s actual cost. And if they do so with a COVID-19 vaccine once it’s available, big pharma will make it as expensive as possible, putting the vaccine out of the hands of many.
The consequences will be dire: my Jacksonville community and our country will be unable to reach herd immunity, people will needlessly die from being unable to receive it, and this pandemic will continue to rage on.
For many Floridians and other Americans, the scope of living with a life-altering disease is an issue on the periphery. The simple truth of living with sickle cell anemia and its associated medical issues is that my body is a battlefield, so I had the choice to let it be a barrier to my aspirations or work to succeed for me and my daughter’s future.
My daughter has spent much of her life witnessing my struggle, but she has also been witness to my perseverance despite the significant health challenges I face.
Patients like myself carry our illness with us every day and fight for better days. However, to be able to continue our lifelong fight, we are bound to pay enormous
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RATES prices to drug companies because of the way our government has allowed the pharmaceutical industry to control prices.
In addition to the various medical equipment I must purchase, I must also pay $6,500 for every PROCRIT shot; that is, with insurance. Without insurance, I’d be forced to choose between my own medication — the drugs that keep me alive — and ensuring my daughter has food to eat and a roof over her head.
The Trump Administration already has the tools to ensure not one more American goes broke as a result of their medical condition. Through invoking the Government Patent Use statute, the federal government has the ability to break patented pharmaceuticals, keeping big pharma from charging outlandish prices on the drugs needed by the average American.
If big pharma is allowed to retain systematic control of the drug industry during this pandemic, it will not be just you or me that suffer the consequences, but the country as a whole. We must lift up our voices to declare that affordable prescription drugs and life-saving vaccines are not a choice to be weighed, but the right of all Americans in this country.
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