This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (CDC/Alissa Eckert, MS)

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and several senior House lawmakers recently announced a plan to impose price controls and seize patents on any COVID-19 vaccines and treatments in development. They vowed to strike down any emergency stimulus packages excluding such measures.

Those efforts aren’t just misguided — they pose a threat to the health of Americans. If lawmakers succeed, they would dismantle the innovation ecosystem that has enabled U.S. pharmaceutical firms to move with remarkable speed to develop COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.