Hot Topics: Politics
COVID The Ethics Of Who Gets The COVID-19 Vaccine And When “We are devoting this entire hour to questions we’re getting about the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, including the big question of how different groups of Americans are being prioritized. Now we want to get some perspective on the kind of thinking that goes […]
Full ArticleWritten by Stephen Rainey If we had a machine that could eradicate coronavirus at the press of a button, there would likely be a queue to do the honours. Rather than having such a device, we have a science-policy interface, and a general context of democratic legitimacy. This isn’t a push-button, but a complex of […]
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by Craig Klugman, Ph.D.
In 1862, the Morrill Act provided for the building of land grant universities throughout the country. Their purpose was to make higher education, especially in agriculture and technical arts, available to people who previously would not have had access.…
Full ArticleBy Stephen Rainey Joe Biden won the recent US election. As yet, the normal concession speech from the losing candidate has not been forthcoming. Donald Trump’s actions since losing the presidency have been, well, Trumpian, prompting Biden to label them an ‘embarrassment.’ He also suggested that The Donald was endangering his legacy in not reacting […]
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Dear AJOB & bioethics.net Readers,
I am writing to highlight a serious situation facing the academic Prof. Vojin Rakić (personal website; Institutional website) who is currently undergoing a terrible time with the Serbian government.…
Full ArticleCOVID-19 Vaccine ethics: Covid could come back stronger if rich nations monopolise doses“The news that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may prove up to 90 per cent effective at preventing symptoms of Covid has sparked something approaching euphoria across the globe. Stock markets have soared and there is speculation everything could return to “normal” by the spring. But with this […]
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by Craig Klugman, Ph.D.
It is hard to know what to write in the middle of another drawn out ballot counting election in the U.S.…
Full ArticleBy Charles Foster This is a plea for a self-denying ordinance on the part of philosophers. Ignore Covid-19. It was important that you said what you have said about it, but the job is done. There is nothing more to say. And there are great dangers in continuing to comment. It gives the impression that […]
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by Asma Fazal, MD, MRCPI, MHSc
Offering sanctuary to those fleeing conflicts is the most pressing human rights issue in the world today.…
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by Bandy X. Lee, MD, Mdiv
Mary Trump’s recent article pinpointed our problem with “the Goldwater rule”: “in March 2017, shortly after [Donald Trump] was inaugurated, the APA didn’t just reaffirm the rule—it expanded it past the point of coherence.” …
Full ArticleClinical Ethicists Awakened: Addressing Two Generations of Clinical Ethics Issues Involving Undocumented Patients
Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and the Cultural Boundaries of Medical Practice
Ethical Guidelines for DNA Testing in Migrant Family Reunification
Just Policy? An Ethical Analysis of Early Intervention Policy Guidance
Health Research Priority Setting: The Duties of Individual Funders
The Rescinding of DACA: What Should Healthcare Professionals and Academics Do? (and Why?)
Saving Life, Limb, and Eyesight: Assessing the Medical Rules of Eligibility During Armed Conflict
A Proposed Process for Reliably Updating the Common Rule
What can we do moving forward address disparities from COVID-19? Possibly, “a Covid Commission can help to untangle the scope and role government-sanctioned misinformation played in the U.S. death toll from the pandemic”
Full ArticleWhat drives vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers? “The hesitancy is less outright rejection than cautious skepticism. It’s driven by suspicions about the evidence supporting the new vaccines and about the motives of those endorsing them.”
Full ArticleAlthough facial recognition software proves to be useful in certain scenarios, what happens if this technology falls into the wrong hands. Researchers must recognize that unethical facial recognition practice is fundamentally dangerous.
Full Article“The clinicians also painted a grim picture of their lives, as the pandemic enters a newly robust phase with record case counts in the United States. About half already said their mental exhaustion was at an all-time high. Many worried about keeping their doors open: about 7 percent said they were not sure they could remain open past December without financial help.”
Full Article“The liquid that many hope could help end the Covid-19 pandemic is stored in a nondescript metal tank in a manufacturing complex owned by Pfizer, one of the world’s biggest drug companies. There is nothing remarkable about the container, which could fit in a walk-in closet, except that its contents could end up in the world’s first authorized Covid-19 vaccine.” All eyes are on these developers as the race towards a COVID-19 vaccine continues. Rates run high and tensions are tough as the world grapples with the pandemic.
Full Article“In the imminent future, patients will start to die because there simply aren’t enough people to care for them. Doctors and nurses will burn out. The most precious resource the U.S. health-care system has in the struggle against COVID-19 isn’t some miracle drug. It’s the expertise of its health-care workers—and they are exhausted.”
Full ArticleThis nursing home was one of the deadliest places in NYC. Nursing home workers supported residents in hot spots, without proper PPE, and amidst a fiscal crisis. The pandemic has devastated homes and workers. This article peeks into their stories.
Full Article“Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company.” What harm has already been done? The opioid crisis has been a big obstacle to tackle in recent years due to those that struggle with its addiction and the interests of many pharmaceutical companies.
Full ArticleWhat needs to be considered as some governments move towards a “herd immunity approach? What does it mean to have “herd immunity”? How would this affect the population and the future of the pandemic? Here, in this Washington Post piece, John Authers discusses the moral decision in immunity. He brings in concepts of utilitarianism and economic status in the consideration for herd immunity.
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