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COVID-19: Ethical Guidelines for the Exit Strategy
Alberto Giubilini Julian Savulescu Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics University of Oxford Supported by the UKRI/AHRC funded project “The Ethical Exit Strategy” (Grant number AH/V006819/1) https://practicalethics.web.ox.ac.uk/ethical-exit-strategy-covid-19 These are the “Main Points” and the Executive Summary of a Statement on key ethical considerations and recommendations for the UK “Exit Strategy”, that is, the strategy informing
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Coronavirus: Why I Support the World’s First COVID Vaccine Challenge Trial
Lesterman/Shutterstock Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford Two months ago I received an email from a colleague inviting me to join a global campaign to support a form of vaccine research that would involve deliberately infecting volunteers with COVID-19. This might seem like a strange idea. Some people have raised concerns about this research. Some even
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Video Series: Covid-19 Who Should Be Vaccinated First?
After healthcare and some other essential workers, it might seem the most obvious candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine (if we have one) are the elderly and other groups that are more vulnerable to the virus. But Alberto Giubilini argues that prioritising children may be a better option as this could maximise the benefits of indirect
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Some Questions for the University of Oxford about their Covid-19 Advice
Written by University of Oxford DPhil Student, Tena Thau Yesterday, Oxford sent out an email to students, informing us that we would be asked to sign this Covid-19 Student Responsibility Agreement, before the start of term in October. The email also linked to some further Covid-19 guidance. Here are some questions that I had,
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Video Series: Are Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps Safe?
Are contact tracing apps safe? Dr Carissa Véliz (Oxford), author of ‘Privacy is Power’, explains why we should think twice about using such apps. They pose a serious risk to our privacy, and this matters, even if you think you have nothing to hide!
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Must Clinical Ethics Committees Involve Patients or Families in their Meetings?
By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics and Michael Dunn @ethical_mikey In a high court case reported last week, a judge strongly criticised a London hospital’s clinical ethics committee (CEC). The case related to disputed treatment for a gravely ill nine-year old child. There had been a breakdown in the relationship between the clinical team and the child’s
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Pandemic Ethics: Good Reasons to Vaccinate: COVID19 Vaccine, Mandatory or Payment Model?
The best chance of bringing the Coronavirus pandemic to an end with the least loss of life and the greatest return to normality seems to be the introduction of an effective vaccine. But how should such a vaccine be distributed? To be effective, particularly in protecting the most vulnerable in the population, it would need
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Guest Post- Pandemic Ethics: Your Freedom Really Matters. So What?
Written by Farbod Akhlaghi (University of Oxford) The coronavirus pandemic rages on. To the surprise of many, the enforcement of mask wearing, imposition of lockdowns, and other measures taken to try to halt the pandemic’s march have been met with some heavy and vocal resistance. Such resistance has materialised into protests in various countries against
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Pandemic Ethics: Testing times: An ethical framework and practical recommendations for COVID-19 testing for NHS workers
Dr Alberto Giubilini, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities was part of an independent rapid-response project to develop an ethical framework for COVID-19 swab testing for NHS workers. Following a stakeholder consultation, the expert group have published a report identifying ethical considerations and providing
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Guest Post: Is it Wrong to Lower Your Chances of Doing What You Ought to Do?
Written by Farbod Akhlaghi (University of Oxford) Suppose you have a moral obligation to take care of your ailing parent tomorrow. If you did something that would lower your chances of fulfilling that moral obligation – like going out partying all night tonight – would you thereby have done something morally wrong? We do things