This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, November 12, 2020.

I'm Caleb Brown.

When Pfizer announced that it had a vaccine to tackle COVID-19,

people rejoiced and markets shot up. Vice President Mike Pence took a victory

lap on behalf of Operation Warp Speed. The federal government's attempt to quick in the process

of developing a vaccine. One problem though, Pfizer didn't

participate in Operation Warp Speed. Cato adjunct scholar Terence Keeley comments.

Pfizer, for their part, seems to have been fairly clear that no we were not a part of

Operation Warp Speed and they at least the CEO seemed to have some pretty good reasons

for that. Yeah I I mean, if you believe in free markets, the appearance of this vaccine is a complete vindication of free markets.

So the chief executive of Pfizer said that he wanted absolutely not to take part in

operation warp speed because he and I'm now quoting he wanted to liberate our scientists from any

bureaucracy he wanted the company scientist to focus on the science and only on the

science not on government paperwork, reports and guidance.

And this is actually quite an important story.

Out there you have six huge pharmaceutical companies in Operation Warp Speed, which basically is a scheme by which the government

gives these huge corporations very large sums of money to do research into finding a vaccine for COVID and the one

company that beats them all is FISA's which is the one company that does not take

part in Operation Walkspeed.

And there's another reason that the chief executive gives.

He says partly it's because once you take money from the government,

you've got to take regulations and regulations hold you back.

...