Coronavirus and innovation: A match made possible when government doesn’t interfere

Charles Sauer writes for the Washington Examiner about an “innovation renaissance” sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Everywhere we look we see innovation. Everywhere we look we see hope, we see perseverance, we see action.

I am not talking about the government. Many of the the government’s actions have been ill-advised, slow, and missing the target. I am talking about entrepreneurs retooling their businesses, restaurateurs finding ways to keep their business going and their employees working, movie theater owners selling popcorn in an attempt to pay their employees, and, most of all, the inventors that are trying to find a way to fight this pandemic and overcome it.

We are in the middle of an innovation renaissance, and it is amazing.

The innovations range from the simple to the world-changing. The innovations of yesterday that had unrealized value are now allowing us to adapt to this isolation in ways that couldn’t even be imagined a few years ago.

This should be no surprise. The spirit of invention has always been strong in America. Since our founding, we built protection for inventors into our Constitution through patents. As a result, we have been a nation that cherishes and rewards innovation, serving as an example to the world. …

… On the more complicated side, the pharmaceutical industry has jumped into high gear. From inventing new tests to new drugs, scanning their libraries of medicines for what might work, clinical trials have been fast-tracked, and they have tasked their scientists with developing a vaccine. They are working around-the-clock to produce research, actionable information, and when they do it will truly be world-changing.

Additionally, the research, development, and innovations of the past are truly paying off. Platforms such as Zoom are not only allowing friends to stay in contact and classes to meet, but also help businesses communicate with each other and move forward where possible.

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