Many voices have arisen as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds to draw attention on the numerous hidden repercussions of the crisis. The magnitude of those consequences will probably be clear only in the aftermath of the pandemic. But one thing is certain: both patients and healthcare workers have been deeply impacted. Since April 22, with […]
Month: April 2020
Lack of leadership to limit “futile” end-of-life care leaves Canada hamstrung in COVID-19 pandemic
By Lucas Vivas and Travis Carpenter The COVID-19 pandemic has shed a light on many of the strengths and weaknesses of the world’s public health systems. In Canada, where the national health care system was stretched even before the expected COVID-19 surge, a conversation has begun about the need to direct health care resources to […]
Law and ethics in the time of COVID-19
By Neil Pickering In order to support its Alert Level 4 declaration, the New Zealand government has taken up extraordinary legal powers to control people’s lives. As Professor Andrew Geddis of the Otago University Faculty of Law is reported to have said: “These give the state extraordinary reach into our lives, and transfer extraordinary power […]
Should culpability or negligence of the patient affect triage decisions? A question the state needs to answer for healthcare professionals
By Nikunj Agarwal Triage decision and value judgments Value judgments about justice or fairness are neither easy nor conclusive. However, this does not prevent value judgments from being made on a daily basis. When a judge attempts to determine the culpability of an accused, the procedural and evidentiary rules assist her in making those value […]
A lesson from COVID-19: Persuasion can be a more powerful tool than mandates in improving vaccine uptake
By Jennifer O’Neill. Only months ago, it would have been hard to believe that the citizens of Western democracies would forsake their basic liberties. Yet, in recent weeks, the public have accepted that life as we know it is on hold for an undefined period of time and that during that time they cannot see […]
Elder Care during COVID-19 : Reflections from Shanghai
On January 23, 2020, Wuhan, a Chinese city with over 10 million people, was locked down due to COVID-19. Subsequently, all cities in China instituted the highest level emergency response. The response mandated home isolation, reduced unessential hospital visits, restricted social activities, and the use of personal protection equipment (e.g., face masks) outdoors. We […]
Domestic health financing for Covid-19 response in Africa
This blog is a part of #COVID19Africa Series The outbreak of Covid-19 imposes additional financing requirements to prevent, detect and respond in a timely and effective manner. Underfunding of health is a persistent problem in African countries, resulting in weak health systems and gaps in service delivery. Required funding to promote universal access to primary […]
Is it ethical to forcibly withdraw ventilators from nursing home patients for reallocation to Covid-19 patients?
By: Andrew Peterson, Adrian M. Owen, Charles Weijer. In the race to save lives in the Covid-19 pandemic, we must not sacrifice those most vulnerable. Covid-19 kills not only by attacking the respiratory system, but also by attacking the health care system. Overwhelmed ICUs may not have enough ventilators for patients in respiratory distress. The […]
Death in Isolation: The Covid-19 Dead Are More Than Numbers
Blog by Avril Tynan We are in the midst of a pandemic for which we are woefully unprepared. Our priorities now, quite rightly, are to minimize the losses—both personal and ultimately economic. Our anticipative strategies for prevention have become plans for mitigation and—hopefully, one day—recovery. We are growing accustomed, in a terrifying—and, for most generations, […]
Withdrawing ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic: When is it justified?
By Jeremy Davis. One of the most concerning aspects of our current crisis is the massive shortage of mechanical ventilators. Such scarcity has already led to rationing in some places; elsewhere, rationing will soon be unavoidable. This raises difficult ethical questions, perhaps the most central and urgent of which is: Which patients should we prioritize? […]