Social risks and state vaccine rollout plans, triage during the pandemic, surprising surge in egg freezing

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Latest News
January 28, 2021


** Covid Vaccine Rollout
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Hastings scholar comments on states' consideration of race and ethnicity
Health vulnerabilities prevalent among racialized minority populations are associated with higher risk of illness or death from Covid-19. States are grappling with how vaccine prioritization should reflect these known risks. Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger told the AP that state decision-makers should consider social as well as medical risk factors: “We’ve been telling a fairly simple story: ‘Vaccines are here.’ Now we have to tell a more complicated story. We have to think about all the different overlapping areas of risk.” Read the AP article ([link removed]) .

Most states are not yet publicly reporting race and ethnicity data on people being vaccinated. Available data suggest that Black Americans are underrepresented in vaccination to date relative to their risk of Covid-19 infection and death, suggesting a pressing need for improved access and better outreach and distribution strategies. In an interview with the Washington Post, Berlinger said that states “need to be able to compare these data at various different levels to understand how to respond. We can't just wait until after the fact and make it an academic exercise.” Read the Washington Post article ([link removed]) .


** Ethics, Trust, and Triage in the United States versus Europe During the Pandemic
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Ethical issues around triage in the Covid‐19 pandemic generated many debates in the United States, but few in most European countries. Why? A new early-view article in the Hastings Center Report explores this question and offers insights and recommendations. The author, Kristina Orfali, a professor of bioethics and a clinical ethicist at Columbia University, observes that concern about discrimination was a central issue in the U.S. and that that concern fueled debates around triage. In Europe, allocation decisions were delegated to medical experts, with little public information. Orfali recommends that societies make the triage process transparent to the public, communicating values and principles that should guide any resource allocation decisions in a situation of scarcity. “The ethics of triage cannot be reduced to strictly medical protocols.” Read the Hastings Center Report article ([link removed]) .


** Surprising Surge of Egg Freezing During the Pandemic Raises Ethical Questions
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Contrary to the expectations of many fertility clinics, egg freezing—oocyte cryopreservation, or OCP-- has increased sharply during the pandemic, according to a recent essay in Hastings Bioethics Forum. As clinics grapple with this unexpected surge, pre-pandemic concerns about a lack of information on risks, benefits, and harms of egg freezing have persisted and are likely being exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read the Hastings Bioethics Forum essay ([link removed]) .


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Upcoming Events
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"Advancing Social Justice, Health Equity, and Community," ([link removed]) the Daniel Callahan Annual Lecture, with Duke University professor Patrick T. Smith and Hastings Center president Mildred Solomon. February 9 at noon Eastern time on Zoom.

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The Hastings Center seeks to ensure responsible health and science policy and practice. We work to secure the wisest possible use of emerging technologies and fair, compassionate, and just health care for people across their lifespan.

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