California congressman wants the coronavirus vaccine to be free, once it’s available
A freshman California congressman is pushing a bill that would make the coronavirus vaccine, once available, free of charge.
The vaccine is not supposed to be available for at least another year, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
But Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, said it would be good to pass a bill mandating the vaccine be free sooner rather than later, so people can be confident that the vaccine would be affordable for them by the time it is ready for the public.
“It will save us lives and money in the long run if we guarantee everyone can get this vaccine for free,” Harder said. “Development is still a ways off, but putting the stake in the ground now should give people confidence that everyone will be able to get this vaccine.”
“Even if you personally have insurance, you should want this to be free to everyone,” he added. “You want the person next to you at the supermarket or next to you in church to have this vaccine.”
He estimated it would cost billions of dollars to vaccinate every American at no charge, but having people unvaccinated could cost even more if the outbreak drags on. He compared it to one of Congress’ recent bills to combat coronavirus that provided free testing of the virus for similar reasons.
“If you think tests should be free, then vaccines are even more important to be free,” Harder said.
Many private and governmental organizations are working on vaccines, with three vaccines reportedly the closest to being tested. But even after the vaccine is tested on humans there is still a long observation and approval period before it can be administered widely.
Harder modeled the bill after one on a vaccine on Hepatitis A that would provide that vaccine for free to people in identified at-risk communities introduced in 2019. That bill didn’t pass, however, Harder said he’s optimistic that this provision will be included in the third coronavirus help package currently being written in Congress that will bring long-term economic aid needed due to coronavirus.
There is no precedent for Congress successfully mandating a free vaccine, Harder acknowledged. But he added that this was a “much bigger public health emergency” than is typical.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 2:53 PM.
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