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“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.

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What 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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Vaccine development is in contention within the United States, navigating the progress of clinical research and pressures for development from the federal government. Pfizer has announced that the goal is to ask for emergency use in November.

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Once a vaccine is developed and efficacious, how do we get the vaccine to those in need? This effort relies on the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) initiative which the U.S is not involved in. How can COVAX help vaccines in Africa?

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When considering clinical research and oversight, who is in charge? The FDA is the main agency that deals with clinical oversight, but from research, “FDA’s enforcement of clinical research regulations is often light-handed, slow-moving, and secretive.” How does this relate with current clinical trials of COVID-19? How can we ensure that certain researchers are being watched for their clinical research practices?

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If the COVID-19 vaccine is efficacious, what considerations need to be factored in on who receives the vaccine first? A panel recently met to tackle this question. Healthcare workers and the disadvantaged are communities heavily considered. When vaccine supplies are limited, the panel argues these groups should be considered for priority. However, when it comes to considering priority on the basis of racial health disparities due to COVID-19, this question enters gray waters.

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How will AI change the foundation of healthcare? What considerations do we have to include for ethics of such technology and necessary training of medical providers? What does it mean? Tom Simonite writes on AI integration into provider hands. Often, AI response can challenge the intuition and the conclusions made by the doctor in practice. These differences leads to trust as a major barrier to the inclusion of more AI into healthcare.

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“Vaccines may be our best hope for a safe return to workplaces, parties, stores and schools, but even if all leading vaccine candidates are protective, the British charity Oxfam estimates that nearly two thirds of the world’s population will not have access until at least 2022.” Could the common cold help ease the pandemic? Writers speculate in this Scientific American piece.

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The scandal about hydroxychloroquine turned heads earlier this year in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores the situation with Surgisphere, the company behind the data for studies that have since been retracted.

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