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> Yes they spent a lot of money and time creating the vaccine. Now open source it and let the rest of the world save their citizens. And who’s going to pay for
by Siira 6y ago
> Yes they spent a lot of money and time creating the vaccine. Now open source it and let the rest of the world save their citizens.
And who’s going to pay for it? The whole PPE shortage was exactly because of this entitled attitude. If you artificially limit prices, you’ll only limit the supply (to possibly nothing, as vaccines have high upfront costs), and enable scalpers.
One obvious solution is to have a UN initiative that buys the IP and opensources it. I don’t know how hard this is. Generally, one big problem is the lack of gratitude on the part of freeriders. Otherwise, the goodwill it generated for the sponsors would probably be enough to make it happen.
PS: I live in Iran. I am not defending my privilege here.
- kart23 6y agoIdeally, they would realize that moral responsibility to save lives is greater than money in this case. I don't think money would even be a problem, public pressure would be enough if everyone knew what was at stake. The companies capable of manufacturing would still make money by selling the vaccine to governments and people.
- em500 6y agoProbably every doctor and nurse feels moral responsibility to save lives is greater than money in any specific case. But if you cut all their compensation to minimum wage plus a bit, I doubt many will keep working in health care for very long.