Discussion Replies: Pandemic Patents
This post will undoubtedly cause some to read in disgust or disdain for my views on this. Much like everyone in this class and many others, we all have opinions on things and the topic. Here is mine as it relates to me as a Christian and how it relates to me on what is fair.
This is a challenging answer to give to anyone based on the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic started with a degree of demands and direction that flowed from a man who had a financial buy-in to this whole thing. The absolute epitome of what one could say is insider trading. He influenced the outcome of a situation which he held a financial interest. The pandemic was manufactured and not a natural creation of god. Yes, there were a great deal of lives lost, and the need for a cure was essential to everyone who was at risk. The obligation to find the cure was on the people who created the problem. If anyone else stepped up to solve it and take a crack at a cure, they should be considered a good person just for the attempt. If they find the cure, they are the saver of lives. That is it, nothing more or less when finding it. The recipe's Intellectual Property and any other factor that another company could duplicate should remain a secret. Why should it be the finder of the cure's responsibility to save the world? "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Furthermore, the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis. 2012) the companies with the vaccine chose to try and find the cure we as humans chose to eat from the tree god told us not to, so we are all sinners. No one gets to tell another who has free will what to do and who should do what. They deserve repayment and profit for their time and money, and we deserve to spread the vaccine as best as Christians. The Intellectual property on the recipe and info on the vaccine is the property of those who created the cure and them only.
Now, as a Christian and looking at this through a biblical worldview, we need medicine and doctors. "But when he heard it, he said, those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick" (Matthew. 2012), so we must do our part as Christians to prevent the spread and help give others the cure. As I mentioned before, it is our place to affect the spread of a cure once it is found just as much as it is to make it available to be given by the companies who found it. Maderna's approach of not pursuing legal action in countries of low or middle-class residence was fair and a Christian thing to do. I agree that this was helping others when they could not help themselves by those who could. I still agree with the first article that they refuse to share the recipe with anyone and will keep it to themselves to produce and disperse. It is theirs, and who better to make it than those who found it? Again, let us look at Merck and the fact that they decided to share it with a generic manufacturer to assist in the spread of their vaccine. It is a very Christian thing to do and their choice to make of their own free will. I applaud them for their efforts, but if they chose to take the other approach, I would support them in that as well.
The pandemic was made by man and in a manner that could have been considered an act of war. The lab that created it had the obligation to prevent its spread as it did to prevent its release. They had the obligation to find and produce a vaccine since they created the problem. If anyone else solves someone else's problem, then they deserve the accolades and rewards that follow. The vaccines represented a great attempt to curb the spread and solve this through a herd mentality with the mandated vaccination attempts. "Vaccines represent one of the best ways to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy among the population limits the effectiveness of vaccines." (DiGregorio et al., 2022) Many can argue that the belief in god and his direction in some religions have hindered or slowed the use of the vaccine, but other religions have encouraged it. The differences for and against the vaccine were very defined, and being a Christian was never one of the significant factors on either side of the debate. From what I saw at my job and in my interactions with the public, Christians were on each side equally. I cannot condemn or accept Maderna or Merck in their actions since they can make their own decisions. I am thankful a vaccine was found and questionable if it was necessary. The people who pushed it so severely are the very people who profited the most from the pandemic. In the times of Jesus, he could not have saved as many as the vaccine did, but perhaps if he was here, he could have prevented another artificial atrocity. We will never know.
References
DiGregorio, B. D., Corcoran, K. E., Scheitle, C. P., DiGregorio, B. D., Corcoran, K. E., & Scheitle, C. P. (2022). ‘God will protect us’: Belief in god/higher power's ability to intervene and COVID-19 vaccine uptake. New York, New York : then] Berlin : Religious Research Association ;. doi:10.1007/s13644-022-00495-0
Genesis. (2012). ESV student study bible () Crossway. Retrieved from https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MzE0MTIxMQ== Links to an external site.
Matthew. (2012). ESV student study bible () Crossway. Retrieved from https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MzE0MTI1MA==