Share this article As the coronavirus pandemic tears through rural and urban America, healthcare workers and others at-risk of catching the disease are receiving life-saving vaccines now. Meanwhile, in a new development, opposing views of vaccine policy are front and center in the U.S.' paper of record. First, we turn to the pharmaceutical industry, a powerhouse interest. Thomas Cueni is the director-general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. In a recent New York Times column, he opposed halting patents, or intellectual property rights, to accelerate companies’ distribution of coronavirus vaccines. (Uncle Sam is the authority that grants patents.)