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May 4, 2020
** New Covid-19 Ethics Guidance
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The Hastings Center released new guidance for hospitals and other health care organizations to help address ethical concerns in responding to Covid-19 as a regional public health challenge. The resource is designed for use by health care organizations serving the same geographic region, as well as state and regional hospital associations, state medical societies, and public health authorities. Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger led the project, which was made possible by the Donaghue Impact Fund at The Hastings Center. Read “Responding to Covid-19 as a Regional Public Health Challenge.” ([link removed])
** Scarcity in the Pandemic
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“As we write, cities and states with extensive community transmission of Covid-19 are in harm’s way in the United States—not only because of the disease itself but also because of prior and current failures to act,” write Hastings Center president Mildred Z. Solomon and Hastings Center fellows Matthew Wynia, and Lawrence O. Gostin in the current issue of the Hastings Center Report. “There is still a possibility that the pandemic will be manageably bad rather than unmanageably catastrophic in this country.” They call for several federal government actions, including partnerships with other countries for research and allocation of treatments. Read the article for free ([link removed]) .
** In the Media: Smartphone Apps for Contact Tracing, Grasping at Straws
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After Apple and Google announced plans to develop smartphone apps to determine if people have come within close range of anyone who’s tested positive for Covid-19, Hastings Center research scholar Karen Maschke addressed some of the ethical questions that they raise in an interview with OneZero. While it would be up to individuals to decide whether the download the apps, “The opt-in, in and of itself, is a problem,” Maschke said, explaining that the resulting data may be skewed toward groups that are either more likely to sign up voluntarily or more vulnerable to being told they have to. Read the OneZero article ([link removed]) .
In an interview with Mother Jones, research scholar Nancy Berlinger discussed the ways in which doctors make agonizing decision about which Covid-19 patients to save. The only hard and fast ethical rules of triage, she said, are that no groups should ever be categorically denied care, and individual doctors shouldn’t be forced to make these decisions on their own. Read the Mother Jones article ([link removed]) .
While the world is desperate for Covid-19 medicines, and none are proven safe and effective for the disease, Hastings Center president Mildred Solomon warned against using drugs such as hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 outside of clinical trials or hospitals. She told NowThis, “If we grasp at straws, we will squander the chance to learn what works, and we could turn a pandemic into pandemonium.” Read the NowThis article ([link removed]) .
** A #GivingTuesdayNow Message from President Mildred Solomon on the Hastings Response to Covid-19
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The current pandemic raises pressing ethical issues at the intersection of health, science, and technology, issues that affect each of us. Through the support of generous donors, Hastings experts are responding to the urgency of now--as demonstrated by the work shared in this newsletter. Tomorrow (May 5) The Hastings Center will participate in #GivingTuesdayNow, a new global day of giving and unity in response to the unprecedented need caused by Covid-19. Listen to Hastings President Millie Solomon ([link removed]) describe how donor support directly impacts our ability to shape policy, practice, and public understanding during this pandemic. Please consider making a donation to help Hastings sustain its leadership role applying bioethics in the time of Covid-19. Donate here ([link removed]) .
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