Health secretary Alex Azar wont promise that a coronavirus vaccine would be affordable

It’s going to be a long time before a vaccine for the new coronavirus is available. But when it is, there’s no guarantee that it will be affordable for all Americans, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Azar, a former drug company executive and pharmaceutical lobbyist, told Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) during a congressional hearing on Wednesday that, although he would want to make it affordable, he won’t promise that it will be. “We can’t control that price because we need the private sector to invest,” he said.

Unfortunately for Azar, the new coronavirus doesn’t care about profit margins or returns on investment at drug companies. During an outbreak of an infectious disease, that attitude doesn’t just put the...

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