COVID-19 Ethics

We offer these resources to help work through the challenges and uncertainty of COVID-19. Please see the drop downs below for additional support.

- Video: Covid-19 Ethics FAQ plus a downloadable template PowerPoint slidedeck of the COVID-19 Ethics FAQ video

- Harvard Medical Students produced a COVID-19 curriculum with a module "Medical Ethics in Relation to COVID-19"

- Educational resources on COVID-19 (updated regularly)

More Information

COVID-19 Ethics Videos

Videos

Ethical Considerations During Covid Surge by Denise Dudzinski, PhD, MTS, and Laura Webster, D.BE, RN, HEC-C
Covid-19: Ethics FAQ by Denise Dudzinski, PhD, MTS
May 2020 Bioethics Grand Rounds 4-part series on COVID-19
Visitors as Advocates: Ethical Implications of COVID-19 Visitor Restriction Policies by Tracy Brazg, PhD, MSW, MPH, and Georgina Campelia, PhD, HEC-C

COVID-19 Ethics Slide Deck Presentations

Presentations

COVID-19 Ethics FAQs, a downloadable template PowerPoint slidedeck, by Denise Dudzinski, PhD, MTS
Ethics in Public Health Emergencies: Week Intro, by Gina Campelia, PhD
Ethics in Public Health Emergencies: Covid-19, by Gina Campelia, PhD, and Tracy Brazg, PhD, MSW, MP
Social (In)Justice and Solidarity in a Global Pandemic by Erika Blacksher, PhD
Pandemics and Social Values by Erika Blacksher, PhD

With this slide set, we're hoping to provide a brief introduction to the central ethical conflicts and uncertainties in a public health emergency like Covid-19. We will discuss how ethical frameworks can shift in this context, what ethical conflicts and questions typically arise, as well as some of the central ethical frameworks that can help us work through these challenges.

COVID-19 Ethics Guides

Guides

Overview Covid-19: Ethics Health Sciences Student Module with Zoom Session Cases: Clinical Ethics and Public Health Emergency by Gina Campelia, PhD
Small Group Guide by Gina Campelia, PhD
Ethics Worksheet: Public Health Crisis by Gina Campelia, PhD

COVID-19 Ethics Selected Readings

Ethics Lessons From Seattle’s Early Experience With COVID-19. Dudzinski, D, Hoisington, Brown, C. (2020) Ethics Lessons From Seattle’s Early Experience With COVID-19." American Journal of Bioethics, 20:7, 67-74, DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2020.1764137.
Ethics of Controlled Human Infection to Study COVID-19. Shah SK, Miller FG, Darton TC, Duenas D, Emerson C, Lynch HF, Jamrozik E, Jecker NS, Kamuya D, Kapula K, Kimmelman J, MacKay D, Memoli MJ, Murphy SC, Palacios R, Richie TL, Roestenberg M, Saxena A, Saylor K, Selgelid MJ, Vaswani V, Rid A, 2020. "Ethics of Controlled Human Infection to Study COVID-19." Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.abc1076
Prioritizing Frontline Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Jecker NS, Wightman AG, Diekema DS, 2020. "Prioritizing Frontline Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic." American Journal of Bioethics 20, DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2020.1764140
Supporting the Health Care Workforce During the COVID-19 Global Epidemic. Adams JG, Walls RM. JAMA. 2020 Mar 12. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.3972
Scarce Resource Allocation During Disasters: A Mixed-Method Community Engagement Study. Biddison ELD, Gwon HS, Schoch-Spana M, Regenberg AC, Juliano C, Faden RR, Toner ES. Chest. 2018 Jan;153(1):187-195. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2017.08.001. Epub 2017 Aug 9.
Preventing Discrimination in the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability
Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in the Time of Covid-19. Emanuel EJ, Persad G, Upshur R, Thome B, Parker M, Glickman A, Zhang C, Boyle C, Smith M, Phillips JP. N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar 23. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsb2005114
NY Times: US Civil Rights Office Rejects Rationing Medical Care Based on Disability, Age
Ethical Framework for Health Care Institutions Responding to Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and Guidelines for Institutional Ethics Services Responding to COVID-19 / Managing Uncertainty, Safeguarding Communities, Guiding Practice, The Hastings Center
Treating COVID-19-Off-Label Drug Use, Compassionate Use, and Randomized Clinical Trials During Pandemics. Kalil AC. JAMA. 2020 Mar 24. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.4742
A single ventilator for multiple simulated patients to meet disaster surge. Neyman G, Irvin CB. Acad Emerg Med. 2006 Nov;13(11):1246-9. Epub 2006 Aug 2.
Senior, NYTimes, The Psychological Trauma That Awaits Our Doctors and Nurses
Overcoming the ‘tyranny of the urgent’: integrating gender into disease outbreak preparedness and response. Julia Smith (2019), Gender & Development, 27:2, 355-369, DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2019.1615288
WA State Scarce Resource Management & Crisis Standards of Care
The Toughest Triage - Allocating Ventilators in a Pandemic. Truog RD, Mitchell C, Daley GQ. N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar 23. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2005689.
Who should receive life support during a public health emergency? Using ethical principles to improve allocation decisions. White DB, Katz MH, Luce JM, Lo B. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Jan 20;150(2):132-8.

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