By Harleen Kaur Johal, Rachel Prout, Marianne Tinkler. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged all communities, increasing evidence has emerged that certain sectors have been disproportionately affected. A Public Health England report identified individuals from Black ethnic groups as most likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19. The risk of mortality was also estimated as being […]
Category: Pandemic
People with disabilities are worth saving, too: Ensuring healthcare equity during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Molly M. King Before we face another swell of the pandemic, we have the opportunity as a country to take stock of early lessons learned about the vulnerabilities of our nation’s healthcare system. As our nation celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we have other shortcomings to reflect on, as […]
Proving our worth: why clinical ethicists should help discuss treatment allocation decisions
By Trevor M. Bibler. Clinical ethicists across the nation, and throughout the world, have recently devoted their waking hours to developing triage and allocation policies in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. As these policies develop, we find general agreement that shared processes should take the place of ad hoc, bedside allocation decisions, and that […]
We should sit this one out: Why ethicists should not help discuss treatment allocation decisions
By Claire Horner. Ethicists help both health care professionals and patients and their families by working through complex ethical questions or facilitating communication in a conflict. Clinical Ethics Consultation (CEC) is generally defined as “a set of services provided by an individual or group in response to questions from patients, families, surrogates, health care providers […]
PPE in the hospital: ethical decision-making that balances health professional wellbeing and duty to care
By Rosalind McDougall, Lynn Gillam, Danielle Ko, Isabella Holmes, Clare Delany Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians in well-resourced healthcare systems usually had the information and resources they needed to appropriately protect themselves while still providing optimal care for patients. However, achieving both staff protection and high quality patient care has now become difficult in […]
Mechanical ventilators: the evidence of effectiveness
By Jonathan J. Darrow and Jing Luo As government leaders move to relax physical distancing requirements related to severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a central assumption is that mechanical ventilators will form part of the safety net needed to sustain life in those afflicted with the disease it causes, Covid-19. Ventilators have been described as […]
Patents, private governance and access to vaccines and treatments for Covid-19
By Aisling McMahon Recent moves such as by the United States and United Kingdom to negotiate deals to access large quantities of vaccines/medicines for Covid-19 within their territories raise serious questions around access to healthcare and global equitable distribution. Such attempts to secure preferential access, although understandable within the national context, can jeopardise supplies of […]
We need to talk about corona apps
By Lucie White. The initial hype about a digital contact tracing app that could control the COVID-19 outbreak until an effective vaccine or treatment can be found has died down – governments are downplaying the potential of what was initially sold as a crucial means of escaping lockdown. At the same time, many countries are […]
Good Reasons to Vaccinate: COVID19 Vaccine, Mandatory or Payment Model?
By Julian Savulescu. The best chance of bringing the Coronavirus pandemic to an end with the least loss of life and the greatest return to normality seems to be the introduction of an effective vaccine. But how should such a vaccine be distributed? To be effective, particularly in protecting the most vulnerable in the population, […]
Government-Sanctioned Health Care Discrimination During a Pandemic: Legally Nonsensical and Morally Bereft
By Charles Binkley and David S. Kemp The Trump administration recently announced a rule change that would effectively remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in health care and health insurance. Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination in the provision of health care on the basis of “race, color, national origin, sex, […]