The COVID-19 pandemic has created or highlighted key bioethics issues that face our healthcare system and society at large. On this page, IU Center for Bioethics faculty and staff provide their analysis of the challenges emerging from COVID-19 and possible solutions. To see older entries, please visit the archived pages here.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Blog
From " A Spoonful of Sugar" to Operation Warp Speed: COVID-19 Vaccines and Their Metaphors
Dr. Aaron E. Carroll
- 7 Myths About the Coronavirus Vaccine (Feb. 13, 2021)
- The Risks of the Covid Vaccine, in Context (Dec 30, 2020)
- A Timid C.D.C. Waffles on Quarantines (Dec. 22, 2020)
- Yes, People Are Traveling for the Holidays. Stop Shaming Them. (Dec. 4, 2020)
- The Colleges that Took the Pandemic Seriously (Jan. 31, 2021)
"Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion and functional heterogeneity in a pediatric dialysis unit" Kidney International (February 2021)
"Infection fatality ratios for COVID-19 among noninstitutionalized persons 12 and older: results of a random-sample prevalence study" Annals of Internal Medicine (January 2021)
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)
Vaccinating Detained Migrants Against SARS-COV-2 - Preventing Another Tragedy(Palacios, Travassos, The New England Journal of Medicine)
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)
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.
Other Resources from the Center and Beyond
Regenstrief Dashboard
Dr. Peter Embi, Associate Dean for Informatics and Health Services Research, IUCB faculty investigator, and President and CEO of the Regenstrief Institute, joined his colleagues in creating the Regenstrief Dashboard- an Indiana specific dashboard to track COVID-19 related cases, hospitalizations, and mortality. The information is separated by demographic and regional information.
Indiana CTSI COVID-19 Daily Digest
A partnership between the Indiana CTSl's Monon Collaborative and the Indiana FSSA to engage Indiana's nationally-recognized academic experts to evaluate and inform Indiana practices, programs, and policies.
WHO Global Health Ethics, Resources on Ethics and COVID-19
Links to statements by national ethics committees, international organizations, and national bodies and professional associations about the ethics of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Toolkit: Bioethics Resources for COVID-19
Bioethics.net has collected blog posts, resources, guidelines, and other information for people dealing with COVID-19.
Social Media
Follow our social media pages to keep updated with the center's ongoing efforts to lead an ethical response to the COVID-19 pandemic.