June 4, 2020

Covid Exposes the Inflated Promise of Genomic Medicine

The Covid crisis “offers a supremely unwished-for opportunity to . . . reconsider the hope and money we invest in genetics,” writes senior research scholar Erik Parens in the Scientific American blog. He takes stock of the benefits of genetics-based research tools and the ways in which they could help bring an end to the pandemic, including by tracking the spread of the virus and possibly by aiding the development of a vaccine. However, Parens also points out the limitations of genetics research in remedying “the obscenely and grotesquely disproportionate impact the virus has on the health of some of us.” Parens concludes that “it would be a small step in the right direction if our NIH were to develop a more realistic and forthright vision of the role that genetics can play in promoting the health of all of us.” Read the article.

Watch the Video--Re-Opening the Nation: Immunity Testing

Last week, The Hastings Center hosted a virtual discussion on immunity certification as a path to re-opening the nation and returning to some sense of normalcy. Despite unclear science, companies are racing ahead with the creation of digital immunity tools, so we must consider the consequences now. All panelists agreed that, at this time, we cannot accurately identify who is immune to the coronavirus and determine how long they will remain immune and therefore whether certain people can safely enjoy greater freedom. But even if accuracy weren’t a factor, one panelist urged against developing digital immunity tools because of the ethical concern that they could create “immunity haves” and “have nots.” Other panelists thought that this risk could be addressed with technological design, legislation, and regulation. The discussion was the third in a series of Hastings Conversations. It featured Françoise Baylis, University Research Professor, Dalhousie University; Dakota Gruener, executive director, ID2020 Alliance; Gigi Gronvall, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security; and Mildred Z. Solomon, president of The Hastings Center. Watch the video. Learn more and watch the two previous discussions in the Hastings Conversations series.

Vaccine Rationing and Social Justice in the Covid Response

“The Covid‐19 pandemic needs to be considered from two perspectives simultaneously,” begins a new early-view article in the Hastings Center Report. “First, there are questions about which policies are most effective and fair in the here and now, as the pandemic unfolds. These polices concern, for example, who should receive priority in being tested, how to implement contact tracing, or how to decide who should get ventilators or vaccines when not all can. Second, it is imperative to anticipate the medium‐ and longer‐term consequences that these policies have. The case of vaccine rationing is particularly instructive. Ethical, epidemiological, and economic reasons demand that rationing approaches give priority to groups that have been structurally and historically disadvantaged, even if this means that overall life years gained may be lower.” Read the article.

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