My son Christopher is fully dependent on me for survival. He was born premature and suffered a brain injury as a child, resulting in other complications. He is confined to a wheelchair, vent-trached, and relies on over thirty medications which need to be constantly regulated and changed.
The coronavirus puts my son in even more danger than normal. Odds show that if he caught it, he could face death. No parent should have to experience the helplessness I feel in caring for my son, which is only amplified in the wake of the current crisis. However, I hold onto hope as I know innovators are working toward a cure for both my son’s condition and COVID-19.
Americans need cures, and if not cures then treatments and vaccines that will protect us from this unprecedented threat. Imparting government price controls on medications tightens the pathway to innovation, slowing research and decreasing the likelihood that patients like my son will ever receive a cure or effective treatment.
Washington must recognize the solution to these prices can’t limit innovation. My son and other immuno-compromised patients are depending on the cures and treatments that will be produced.
Nancy Lemus
New Castle
