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Thursday, February 27, 2020 9:57:29 AM
'An Outrage': HHS Chief Azar Refuses to Vow Coronavirus Vaccine Will Be Affordable for All, Not Just the Rich
"This is what happens when you put a Big Pharma CEO who doubled the price of insulin in charge of regulating Big Pharma."
Published on Thursday, February 27, 2020 by Common Dreams
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
Members of Congress and advocacy groups are voicing outrage after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar—a former pharmaceutical executive—repeatedly refused during House testimony Wednesday to guarantee that any coronavirus vaccine or treatment developed with taxpayer money will be affordable for all in the U.S., not just the rich.
"Under the Trump doctrine, if you are wealthy you can buy a vaccine and not succumb to the sickness," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. "If you are poor or working class, you may have to get sick or even die. That is an outrage. That is unacceptable. We need a vaccine that is available to all."
"He's giving Big Pharma a blank check to monopolize them instead."
—Rep. Jan Schakowsky
During testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday, Azar was pressed multiple times to vow that vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus will be priced fairly and made affordable for all U.S. households.
"We would want to ensure that we'd work to make it affordable," Azar told Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), "but we can't control that price because we need the private sector to invest."
Michael McAuliff
?
@mmcauliff
Replying to @mmcauliff
Here's the clip of Azar not assuring Rep. Schakowsky a covid-19 vaccine will be affordable to all.
Schakowsky tweeted following the hearing that she gave Azar "THREE chances to assure us that any coronavirus vaccines or treatments developed with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be affordable and accessible to everyone and he flat out refused to do so."
"He's giving Big Pharma a blank check to monopolize them instead," added Schakowsky.
Progressive advocacy group Social Security Works said late Wednesday that "this is what happens when you put a Big Pharma CEO who doubled the price of insulin in charge of regulating Big Pharma," referring to Azar's tenure at Eli Lilly.
"Pharma and their friends in the Trump admin don't care how many people die," the group wrote, "as long as they get to make a profit."
[...]
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/27/outrage-hhs-chief-azar-refuses-vow-coronavirus-vaccine-will-be-affordable-all-not?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook#
"This is what happens when you put a Big Pharma CEO who doubled the price of insulin in charge of regulating Big Pharma."
Published on Thursday, February 27, 2020 by Common Dreams
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
Members of Congress and advocacy groups are voicing outrage after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar—a former pharmaceutical executive—repeatedly refused during House testimony Wednesday to guarantee that any coronavirus vaccine or treatment developed with taxpayer money will be affordable for all in the U.S., not just the rich.
"Under the Trump doctrine, if you are wealthy you can buy a vaccine and not succumb to the sickness," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. "If you are poor or working class, you may have to get sick or even die. That is an outrage. That is unacceptable. We need a vaccine that is available to all."
"He's giving Big Pharma a blank check to monopolize them instead."
—Rep. Jan Schakowsky
During testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday, Azar was pressed multiple times to vow that vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus will be priced fairly and made affordable for all U.S. households.
"We would want to ensure that we'd work to make it affordable," Azar told Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), "but we can't control that price because we need the private sector to invest."
Michael McAuliff
?
@mmcauliff
Replying to @mmcauliff
Here's the clip of Azar not assuring Rep. Schakowsky a covid-19 vaccine will be affordable to all.
Here's the clip of Azar not assuring Rep. Schakowsky a covid-19 vaccine will be affordable to all. pic.twitter.com/Z8aNd4wLWj
— Michael McAuliff (@mmcauliff) February 26, 2020
Schakowsky tweeted following the hearing that she gave Azar "THREE chances to assure us that any coronavirus vaccines or treatments developed with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be affordable and accessible to everyone and he flat out refused to do so."
"He's giving Big Pharma a blank check to monopolize them instead," added Schakowsky.
Progressive advocacy group Social Security Works said late Wednesday that "this is what happens when you put a Big Pharma CEO who doubled the price of insulin in charge of regulating Big Pharma," referring to Azar's tenure at Eli Lilly.
"Pharma and their friends in the Trump admin don't care how many people die," the group wrote, "as long as they get to make a profit."
[...]
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/27/outrage-hhs-chief-azar-refuses-vow-coronavirus-vaccine-will-be-affordable-all-not?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook#
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