From nationwide shutdowns to metropolitan lockdowns, the coronavirus and its ensuing panic have culminated in a controversial and far-reaching government response. But there has been one bureaucracy that has actually been called into question, rather than reaffirmed, in light of this pandemic: the Food and Drug Administration and its tedious drug approval process.

The FDA was founded in 1906 in response to gruesome and unsanitary conditions in the meat-packing industry. It has since become the unquestioned arbiter of all new medical innovations. FDA approval is now essential for doctors to prescribe and insurance companies to cover any new drug, test, or procedure.

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