Covid Shots & Mandates, Killing vs. Letting Die, New Ethics Resource
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Latest News
August 19, 2021
** New: Bioethics Timeline
Unique Resource for Educators, Clinicians
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From AIDS to Covid-19, how have pandemics and epidemics shaped health policy and bedside decision-making? How have major medical societies’ statements on discrimination and racial justice evolved over the decades? Which landmark court cases helped establish patients’ rights? These are some of the major historical and societal questions that can be explored in a new, free, one-of-a-kind online educational resource: The Hastings Center Bioethics Timeline. It is designed for use by a broad audience, including students from high school to professional schools, journalists, clinicians, and scholars. Among the 32 searchable topics are advance care planning, disability rights, genomics and ethics, human enhancement, medical aid in dying, sexual and gender ethics, social justice, and technology. The timeline was created by a committee of Hastings Center fellows and it will be updated periodically. Learn more and search the bioethics timeline ([link removed]) .
** In the Media: Is It Ethical to Lie to Get a Covid Shot for Your Child? Or a Booster for You?
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Covid vaccines are authorized for children 12 and up; is it ok to lie to get a vaccine for your 11 year old? Or to get a booster for yourself before you're eligible? NPR posed these questions to Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger, who explained that lying to get something that's not intended for you is gaming the system. "It's only thinking about oneself, and it doesn't help close the vaccination gap." Read the NPR article ([link removed]) .
Parents are already finagling to get their underaged kids vaccinated, reports USA Today, and Berlinger had this to say in an interview: "Well, lying is wrong. We tell children not to do that. Involving your child in this lie seems hard to justify." Read the USA Today article ([link removed]) .
** From Hastings Bioethics Forum: Killing vs. Letting Die, Parents' Covid Trauma, Vaccine Mandates
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What justifies the FDA requiring four-to-six-months of follow-up safety data for the children’s Covid vaccine trials but required just two months of follow-up for the adult trials? “Requiring more data than is necessary to achieve safety will result in increased numbers of avoidable deaths,” writes Hastings Center fellow Bonnie Steinbock in “The FDA and the Moral Distinction Between Killing and Letting Die.” “The fact that it [the FDA] would be failing to prevent deaths, as opposed to causing deaths, is irrelevant as regards its moral responsibility.” Read “The FDA and the Moral Distinction Between Killing and Letting Die.” ([link removed])
In “Parents, Covid, and Trauma-Informed Choices,” bioethicist Elizabeth Lanphier discusses how her research on trauma illuminates what she is going through as the parent of a child under 5 years old, including the emotional choices she is making. Read “Parents, Covid, and Trauma-Informed Choices.” ([link removed])
The benefit of mandating Covid vaccines for health care workers is clear, but what if some of them refuse? In “Vaccine Mandates for Health Care Workers Raise Several Ethical Dilemmas,” David Hoffman, a lawyer and bioethics lecturer, works through the ethical calculus of removing unvaccinated health care workers from the bedside, particularly in rural and medically underserved communities. Read “Vaccine Mandates for Health Care Workers Raise Several Ethical Dilemmas.” ([link removed])
** Back in September
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This is the last Hastings Center newsletter until after Labor Day.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
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Upcoming Events
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"Achieving Covid-19 Vaccine Equity," a panel discussion with Hastings Center project manager and research assistant Danielle Pacia at the Stanford Infodemic conference. August 26 ([link removed]) .
"The Ethical Imperatives for Social Media Companies and Influencers to Act," a panel discussion with Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger at the Stanford Infodemic conference. August 26 ([link removed]) .
"Democratic Deliberation and Gene Editing," a presentation by Hastings Center research scholars Michael Gusmano and Karen Maschke at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. September 29 ([link removed]) .
Learn More ([link removed])
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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