What Will the Coronavirus Reveal About Our Healthcare System?

Scientists, doctors, and citizens everywhere are debating how concerned we should be about the outbreak of Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. With alarming headlines grabbing our attention, the World Health Organization has increased its assessment of the risk of spread and impact to “very high.” Catalyst Fellow Conor Norris has taken a look at the problem from another angle in his recent article titled “Coping with the Coronavirus Requires Freeing Healthcare Providers.”

This evening, after the Food and Drug Administration announced the first shortage of a drug related to the global disruption caused by the coronavirus, calls emerged for greater government regulation of the drug production process. Mr. Norris has responded with further insight in his additional piece, “There’s a Wrong Way to React to a Drug Shortage – and a Right Way.” As Norris puts it, “Let’s not react to the current crisis by further expanding bureaucratic control of the drug market, which will only put us in a worse position in future crises.”