[blendergeek]

That would explain why the current companies are attempting to hide information that could be used to save lives. Is that a moral justification for the government granting the vaccine companies a monopoly on the information, even though free sharing of the information could save even more lives?

[fanimalmanimal]

I’ve read stories indicating that some of these companies are ramping up production prior to approval in order to have batches of doses to distribute soon after approval happens. Having a government that will protect said company’s intellectual property helps reduce financial risk to the company, making that preproduction a bit less risky overall. It’s also arguable that protecting that IP is a moral justification for the same reason — saving lives. There might not be as many companies developing vaccines and committing to large production runs before they’re even approved without it.

Keep in mind, I’m not outright saying you’re wrong. I do think you’re way oversimplifying things.

[kube-system]

Yep, sharing information may be important, but generating the information to begin with is even more important. Whatever we do, the incentives must align so we have as many people working on the problem as possible. It is critical that there is a guaranteed revenue stream as reward for developing a vaccine; the world does not have enough scientists that can/will volunteer their time. IP is the established way of doing this. Maybe there are other solutions, but if they haven't been implemented at this point, it's already too late.