Worried about our intellectual property concerning COVID-19 vaccines being stolen? Congresswoman Miller-Meeks has it covered.

Last week, Reps Mariannete Miller-Meeks (IA-02) and Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) worked together to introduce a resolution to protect the intellectual property of COVID-19 vaccines. This resolution expresses that the United States should not waive IP rights relating to any COVID-19 vaccines or treatments.

“Waiving the IP for the COVID-19 vaccine would destroy billions of dollars in U.S. IP by handing it over to countries like Russia and China. Giving away our IP will also set a precedent for future pandemics and deter pharmaceutical investment,” said Miller-Meeks.

“If we have learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that we now understand the importance of having our private sector partners working with us to prepare for future emergencies. As a doctor and member of both the Homeland Security Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, I understand the importance of protecting our IP to support our healthcare system and bolster our domestic supply chains,” said Miller -Meeks.

China has become increasingly brazen in its intellectual property theft over the past decade. In Iowa, a Chinese spy was spotted in a nearby cornfield in Bondurant who allegedly was researching Iowa fields in a “plot to steal American hybrid corn from fields in Iowa and reverse-engineer it for China,” according to the Washington Post.

The FBI has also been active in recent years in reaching out to midwest universities to fight against Chinese intellectual property theft on technology and trade secrets that have been alleged to have been stolen by researchers ‘tapped’ by China.