Safer Harbor for SARS-CoV-2 Innovators

On March 10, 2020, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, issued a "Declaration pursuant to section 319F-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-6d) to provide liability immunity for activities related to medical countermeasures against COVID-19."  Although one must meet the criteria described in the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to be eligible, this relaxation of liability standards for SARS-CoV-2 innovations may help groups like the open source MIT Emergency Ventilator Project and Open Source Ventilator project that are attempting to invent and deliver medical devices or drugs beneficial to those infected with SARS-CoV-2.