This page includes older content that highlights key bioethics issues that Covid-19 has created. To see current articles that the IU Center for Bioethics faculty and staff have provided, please check this page.
Center Faculty Speak about COVID-19
The center provides video series on different ethical perspectives on the challenges of COVID-19. For more news on these events, please visit the IUCB calendar.
Dr. Aaron E. Carroll
Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, Faculty Investigator at the IU Center for Bioethics and Professor of Pediatrics at IU School of Medicine, releases videos every week on his YouTube channel, Healthcare Triage. During the pandemic he and his team are answering questions and busting myths using scientific research and medical expertise.
Watch latest Covid-19 video:
Dr. Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds
COVID-19 and the Black Community
Dr. Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, faculty investigator at the Indiana University Center for Bioethics, and Assistant Dean for Diversity Affairs at the IU School of Medicine, spoke with WFYI to explore how COVID-19 is impacting the black community in Indianapolis. Listen Here
Dr. Mary Ott, faculty investigator at IU Center for Bioethics and Professor of Pediatrics at IU School of Medicine, recently presented a TREATs Talk (Translational Research Ethics- Applied Topics). Her presentation, "Ethics of Virtual Engagement and Data Collection" explores ethical issues associated with increased online health appointments in the time of COVID-19. Watch Dr. Ott's presentation here and then visit the channel page to see the rest of our library.
Center Faculty and Staff Write about COVID-19
IUCB Blog
IUCB faculty and staff have been using our blog platform to respond to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic through the lens of a bioethics framework. Topics covered include ethics of allocation, lessons from quarantine about isolation and connection, ethics of government and public response, and ethical violations of lock down orders. We will continue throughout the pandemic and beyond to respond to relevant topics on this site.
Dr. Brownsyne Tucker-Edmonds
Tucker-Edmonds, Profit, Shah, Cheyney, " The Covid - 19 Pandemic as a Catalyst for More Integrated Maternity Care", American Journal of Public Health, November 2020.
Dr. Peter Embi
Embi et al.., " Use of electronic health records to support a public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic int he United States: A perspective from 15 academic medical centers", Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. November 2020.
Embi, Sacks, Menachemi, " What can we learn about SARVS-CoV-2 prevalence from testing and hospital data?", Econometrics. August 2020.
Dr. Mary A. Ott
Ott, Spinola, Zimet, Katz, " Human Challenge Studies Are Unlikely to Accelerate Coronavirus Vaccine Licensure Due to Ethical and Practical Issues," The Journal of Infectious Diseases, November 2020.
Ott, Bernard, Wilkinson, Edmonds, " Clinician Perspective on Ethics and COVID-19: Minding the Gap in Sexual and Reproductive Health," Perspect Sex Reprod Health, September 2020.
Dr. Ross D. Silverman, JD, MPH
Silverman, Zimet, Fortenberry, " COVID-19 and Vaccination of Children and Adolescent: Prospects and Challenges", The Journal of Pediatrics, November 2020.
Silverman, " The Role of Law and Ethics in Recent Preparedness and Response for Vaccine-Preventable Illness", Public Health Reports, August 2020.
Silverman, " Ensuring uptake of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2", New England Journal of Medicine, June 2020.
Blog
From " A Spoonful of Sugar" to Operation Warp Speed: COVID-19 Vaccines and Their Metaphors
Dr. Aaron E. Carroll
- We made a Mistake With Masks. Now it could be tests.
- When Can Grandparents Meet the Newborn?
- ¿Cuándo pueden los abuelos conocer al recién nacido?
- The Coronavirus Has Made It Obvious. Teenagers Should Start School Later.
- We Need 1 Million Tests a Week
- Don't Halt Social Distancing: Do it right
- This is How We Can Beat the Coronavirus
Carroll, " Public health, pandemic response, and the 2020 US election", Public Health, October 2020.
Dr. Colin Halverson
Professors Halverson (Bioethics) and Wilson (Medical Genetics) lay out practical and ethical issues encountered in the world of direct-to-consumer genetic testing that suggest potential pitfalls and work-arounds for the rollout of direct-to-consumer COVID testing
Topics and Reading from Center Faculty and Staff
In this section, IU Center for Bioethics faculty and staff share articles that address important topics related to bioethics and the COVID-19 pandemic. This section is updated regularly as new articles and topics come up, so bookmark the page and return regularly for new articles and discussion.
The world is facing unprecedented challenges in coping with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The best way forward, internationally, nationally, and locally, will be through implementation of robust public health policies that are based on the latest scientific evidence. With these policies, though, come essential bioethical questions.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Poliovirus Surveillance (Zomahoun, Burman, et al..)
Op-Ed: How COVID-19 caused the U.S. to implement universal healthcare(Amy Faith Ho)
A National Survey Assessing SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Intentions: Implications for Future Public Health Communication Efforts ( Katharine Head, Monica Kasting, Lynne Sturm, Jane Hartsock, Gregory Zimet)
Vaccinating Detained Migrants Against SARS-COV-2 - Preventing Another Tragedy(Palacios, Travassos, The New England Journal of Medicine)
Why COVID-19 immunity passports may violate US law (Seema Mohapatra, The Conversation)
TheEthicsofCOVID-19Immunity-BasedLicenses("ImmunityPassports11 (Govind Persad & Ezekiel J. Emanuel, JAMA)
Immunity Passports and Moral Hazard (Daniel Jacob Hemel & Anup Malani, University of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 743)
Ten reasons why immunity passports are a bad idea (Natalie Kofler & Franc;oise Baylis, Nature)
Funding of Pharmaceutical Innovation During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic(James Robinson, JAMA)
Reporting Clinical Studies Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guidelines for Authors ( Roy Perlis, Sebastien Haneuse, & Gordon Rubenfield, JAMA)
Rethinking Wellness in Health Care Amid Rising COVID-19- Associated Emotional Distress (Bryant Adibe, JAMA)
Socioeconomic Disparities in Patient Use of Telehealth During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Surge (Ilaaf Darrat, Samantha Tam, MD, & Marwan Boulis, JAMA)
A National Survey Assessing SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Intentions: Implications for Future Public Health Communication Efforts ( Katharine Head, Monica Kasting, Lynne Sturm, Jane Hartsock, Gregory Zimet)
The tragic history of racial mistreatment and bias in the US has always affected healthcare and research involving people of color. These disparities are now contributing to the disproportionate rates of death faced by Black Americans.