Ethical issues in managing the Covid‐19 pandemic

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21504580
AutoresKasper Raus (0000-0002-1281-0022, Ghent University Hospital Gent Belgium, autor de correspondencia), Éric Mortier (0000-0003-3144-5929, Ghent University Hospital Gent Belgium), Kristof Eeckloo (0000-0001-8668-7672, Ghent University Hospital Gent Belgium)
Año2021
Volumen35
Número6
Páginas581-588
Fecha de publicación2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaBioethics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0269-9702 • E-ISSN: 1467-8519
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bioe.12877
PMID33951206
OpenAlexW3158965206
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas11

The COVID‐19 pandemic has had an immense and worldwide impact. In light of future pandemics or subsequent waves of COVID‐19 it is crucial to focus on the ethical issues that were and still are raised in this COVID‐19 crisis. In this paper, we look at issues that are raised in the testing and tracing of patients with COVID‐19. We do this by highlighting and expanding on an approach suggested by Fineberg that could serve as a public health approach. In this way, we highlight several ethical issues. As regards testing, questions are raised such as whether it is ethical to use less reliable tests in order to increase testing capacity or minimize harm for patients. Another issue is how wide testing should be and whether selective testing is in accordance with principles of social justice. Patients who have recovered from COVID‐19 might have some degree of immunity but attributing certain ‘immunopriviliges’ raises ethical questions. The use of various tracing methodologies (mobile apps or databases and trained tracers) raised evident questions of social justice and privacy. We argue why it is key to always uphold a test of proportionality where a fair balance must be sought

Economic Justice · Engineering ethics · Harm · Internet privacy · Pandemic · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies · COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing · Law · Medicine · Psychology · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Social Psychology