For the first time in human history, we have cured hepatitis C – the days of liver transplants and life-long treatments are fast disappearing. We now have a simple vaccine that prevents cervical cancer, something unheard of only a few short years ago. HIV/AIDS has become a chronic, manageable condition instead of the death sentence it once was. And just last week, the first-ever Ebola vaccine was approved in Europe – a lifesaver for millions of people in Africa and around the world.
These are merely a few of the latest – but hardly the last – extraordinary breakthroughs in medicine in the past decade. Biopharmaceutical companies are working at breakneck speed to discover new treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s and diabetes, a vaccine against HIV/AIDS and first-ever treatments for a plethora of rare diseases such as Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and tremendous progress is occurring in combating various life-threatening cancers.
While such efforts are highly risky, incredibly expensive and can take decades, recent successes and promising advances demonstrate that we’re on the cusp of even more astounding medical achievements than was imaginable even a few short years ago.
A recent proposal introduced by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker threatens to halt this progress in its tracks.
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