In July, 1981, I attended the weekly hematology conference at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. They presented one of the first cases of what came to be known as AIDS. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, focused its efforts on developing a vaccine rather than developing therapies.

Now, 40 years later, there still is no HIV-AIDS vaccine. But there are multiple therapies that prolong lifespan and relieve symptoms to an extraordinary degree.

Now, 40 years later, Dr. Anthony Fauci still heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. With Covid-19, he still is focused on developing vaccines, in which he has partially succeeded. But the vaccines seem to lose much of their effectiveness over several months.

Now, 40 years later, Dr. Fauci, other health-care leaders, and government officials not only ignore possible therapies, they actively discourage their use, and where they can they FORBID their use. They await new drugs that can be patented and will be enormously profitable, while the older drugs are inexpensive and much less profitable.

It is not true that things haven’t changed in 40 years. They’ve gotten worse. Instead of merely ignoring therapies in favor of vaccines, therapies are now actively discouraged and even forbidden. If that’s progress, I think I’ll pass, thanks anyhow.

The problem with central control of health care, or of anything, is that it depends completely on the wisdom and honesty of the central controllers. How’s that working out?

“When history repeats itself, the price goes up.”