Do Not Hit Print: The Impact of 3D Printing on Distributive Justice and Why Regulations are Necessary to Prevent Consumer 3D Vaccine Printers

Abstract

During the winter of 2016 a major outbreak of a new influenza strain has occurred in China. As the virus is rapidly spreading throughout major cities, scientists are working to develop a vaccine. A group of scientists in China digitally sequence the genome of the virus and post it to the Internet in hopes that someone could develop a vaccine. Meanwhile, a team of scientists in the United States invents a machine that can print the genome sequence of the virus, and turn the sequence back into a biologic. From this process, they develop a vaccine in less than ten hours to stop the outbreak. This sequence of events may seem like a plot to a science fiction film, however, these events transpired in 2013.