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Drug Production During Crisis: The Case of COVID-19
Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on the American economy. The healthcare system of the country has not coped well with the crisis, which indicates that it is inherently inefficient. Some observers believe that countries with socialized care have coped better, with key examples including New Zealand and the UK. The US is a global power, which means that its systems should be among the best in the world.
However, capitalism has meant that even healthcare is under the private sector where the primary focus is profit maximization. This essay argues that the US healthcare system is not suited to properly address crises as Covid-19 has illustrated. The current status of the system is explored, focusing on the profit-driven nature of care. Additionally, the effects of Covid-19 are summarized before exploring how drug production has been taking place in the country.
Current Status of US Healthcare System
The US healthcare system is characterized by privatization where care is left in the hands of the private sector. From an economic perspective, the private sector should function more efficiently because it follows the market forces. However, the private sector is driven by profitability, which means that the priorities are different from ensuring affordability. The private sector tends to commodify healthcare because the dominant mode of production in the US is capitalist. Therefore, the balance of social power is between the working class and the capitalist classes. The dangers of commodifying healthcare have been explained by Christiansen (2017), which includes healthcare inequality.
Healthcare financing in the United States is done through the private sector. According to Christiansen (2017), the goal of this arrangement changes from the provision of healthcare and advancement of science and technology to profit maximization for the shareholders. A major question becomes the extent to which the priorities change are changed but the fact that inequalities persist in the healthcare system means that profit maximization is detrimental to the delivery of healthcare services.
As a result of the inefficiencies in the US healthcare sector, there have emerged debates on whether the country should socialize care. The argument posed by experts is that socializing healthcare is a paradigm shift from profit maximization to the prioritization of access and affordability of care. This argument is supported by case examples of those countries that have fully implemented this arrangement. In Turkey, a socialized healthcare system is designed to offer every citizen a comprehensive healthcare service regardless of the income or ability to pay (Cesur et al., 2017). Crucially, the socialized care in Turkey is made free for all citizens.
This implies that the government is not concerned with how profitable the sector can be or whether the economy will suffer from cases of people failing to pay. In other words, the focus is on the access and affordability of care regardless of the costs. Socialization works differently from a capitalist framework because resources are shared or distributed across the population. With the government controlling the means of production, there are few chances that the resources will be accumulated among a few people and deny the rest of the country deprived.
Some of the major problems faced by the current US healthcare include the inability to fully address crises. Additionally, the profit-driven nature of care in the country has resulted in a high threat of high medical bills, especially for the working class and the poor. This acts as a barrier to obtaining care, which means some people have to postpone care or miss it altogether. The medical condition tends to exacerbate as a consequence while the businesses in the healthcare industry are still making a profit. These are the dangers of profit-driven healthcare in a country that prides itself as one of the best economies in the world.
Capitalism is not dangerous for Americans but adopting the same approach towards the health and well-being of citizens can cause massive problems for the country. Therefore, it follows that the socialization approach to healthcare in the United States should offer assurances to the citizens that they are fully covered by the healthcare. Privatization has not made the sector more efficient as it would be expected but it has made it difficult for the working class and the poor to access the services.
Covid-19
The effects of Covid-19 on the American healthcare system can be illustrated in economic terms. According to Kaye et al. (2021), the American Hospitals Association estimated that the countrys hospitals lost over $202.6 billion in revenues, which averages $50.7 billion a month. This can be partly because the US recorded the largest new daily cases of infection. The effects have been felt in both patient care and surgical outcomes. In other words, it can be argued that the US healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the pandemic. It would be expected that the system would have various response mechanisms for pandemics, which can be followed to reduce the impacts of a crisis.
Across the planet, governments have been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. Such measures as lockdowns and movement restrictions may have helped reduce the spread. However, credit can also be given to the healthcare systems for those countries that have recorded more success.
The argument is that the healthcare sector has been critical in aiding the decisions made by the government. In other words, swift responses from the healthcare system meant that the governments could also act swiftly to enforce the recommendations from medical experts.
Whether or not this was the case in the US remains to be seen, considering that the previous administration always appeared reluctant to implement various restrictions. these sentiments have been expressed by Wallach and Myers 92020), who observed failures and inaction during the first months of 2020, specifically between January and March. Conflicts of interest between the federal government and the private sector may have played a key role, which should illustrate the extent to which private businesses would go to maximize their profits. However, the Trump administration had made severe violations as accused by Kinsella et al. (2021). Therefore, it means that the blame cannot go solely to the healthcare sector.
Some scholars have observed that the government failed to take action and ignored expert advice from the healthcare sector. According to Hatcher (2020), President Trump failed to follow expert advice and, in many cases, misled the public. Therefore, it can be argued that the pandemic has caused panic even across the political platform. The US operates on a bureaucracy, which means some protocols are followed during these incidences. Attacking privatization for its inefficiencies may seem extreme since a key question that has not been addressed is whether the current situation could have been better if the government followed the advice.
However, evidence from other scenarios still suggests that pandemics tend to cause massive panics and distress such that the entire system is pushed to the limit. Additionally, the healthcare system may have depended on the actions of the government, which means the government may have acted as a barrier to the desired responses.
Drug Producing During Covid-19
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic can be used to illustrate why it is dangerous not to socialize healthcare and, instead, leave it in the hands of the profit-driven private sector. The dangers of this model in the production of pandemic drugs have been explained by Heled et al. (2020). The key observation is that the US has been relying on the market response to Covid-19, including the production and provision of healthcare products and services. Even with substantial support from the public funds, the healthcare system has largely failed to stabilize the situation and the country has had to implement drastic control measures.
Currently, the production and administration of vaccines remain a controversial subject where debates of affordability and the possibility of making them free remain heated. It can also be argued that the previous presidency suffered massive criticism for its inadequate responses to the problem. Making healthcare a basic right means that during pandemics, all citizens can access vaccines and drugs needed, either for free or at subsidized costs that ensure all people can afford them. This arrangement works only in socialized healthcare regimes with the control of governments.
Covid-19 has served as a reminder that markets do not always respond efficiently to crises. According to Ahlbach et al. (2021), countries with socialized healthcare responded rapidly and effectively, with great examples including New Zealand. In such arrangements, the needs of the patients are fully met, which significantly contributes to the improvement of the entire healthcare system. The gaps manifested in the system have only come to the fore as a result of the pandemic.
Currently, the country needs an effective supply chain for the production and administration of Covid-19 vaccines and other drugs. An assessment of the gaps in the production and distribution expressed includes the fragility of essential medicines and the vulnerability of the pharmaceutical supply chain (Socal, Sharfstein, & Greene, 2021). Additionally, the current production levels have failed to meet the demand, which hints at inadequate preparedness. The manufacture and distribution of vaccines may depend on the information available for the pharmaceutical industry. The problem is usually with the distribution where inequalities mean certain populations will lack the medication. Vulnerable groups, including the racial minorities, have remained sidelined by the healthcare system even during the pandemic.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the current healthcare system in the United States is not well suited to address healthcare needs during the pandemic. The root of the problem is the fact that care has been left in the hands of the private sector, whose priorities are profit-maximization. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen hospitals make massive losses in terms of revenue, which indicates that the system is inherently inefficient. The key observation is the fact that the manufacture and distribution of vaccines and drugs have been marred by these inefficiencies, which serves as additional evidence of the inability of healthcare to function properly in times of crisis.
References
Ahlbach, C., King, T., & Dzeng, E. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic and ethical challenges posed by neoliberal healthcare. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36, 205-206.
Cesur, R., Güne_, M., Tekincde, E., & Ulkerf, A. (2017). The value of socialized medicine: The impact of universal primary healthcare provision on mortality rates in Turkey. Journal of Public Economics, 150, 75-93. Web.
Christiansen, I. (2017). Commodification of healthcare and its consequences. World Review of Political Economy, 8(1), 82-103. Web.
Hatcher, W. (2020). A failure of political communication not a failure of bureaucracy: The danger of presidential misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Review of Public Administration, 50(6-7), 614-620.
Heled, Y., Rutschman, S., & Vertinsky, L. (2020). The problem with relying on profit-driven models to produce pandemic drugs. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 7(1), 1-23.
Kaye, A., Okeagu, C., Pham, A., Silva, R., Hurley, J., Arron, B.,& Cornett, E. (2021). Economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare facilities and systems: International perspectives. best Practices & Research in Clinical Anaesthesiology, 1-14.
Kinsella, M., Fowler, G., Boland, J., & Weiner, D. (2021). Trump administration abuses thwart US pandemic response. Web.
Socal, M., Sharfstein, J., & Greene, J. (2021). The pandemic and the supply chain: Gaps in pharmaceutical production and distribution. AJPH, 635-639. Web.
Wallach, P., & Myers, J. (2020). U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing on the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic with members of the Coronavirus Task Force at the White House in Washington, 2020. Web.
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