4.15
Medical Ethics
Racial bias in mortality prediction scores
Racial bias in mortality prediction scores
In mass casualty situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality prediction models alone could divert scarce critical care resources away from Black patients.
Reflecting on a year shaped by COVID-19
Reflecting on a year shaped by COVID-19
Penn Today brings together noteworthy stories and images from the past year and highlights ways for individual members of the Penn community to share their personal experiences.
Jason Karlawish on the science and history of Alzheimer’s
Jason Karlawish on the science and history of Alzheimer’s
The the co-director of the Penn Memory Center outlines the medical, social, and ethical challenges that surround Alzheimer’s disease.
Gutmann, Moreno talk ‘Pandemic Ethics’ at Power of Penn event
The co-authors of ‘Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven but Nobody Wants to Die’ joined virtually with moderator Andrea Mitchell and Penn Alumni to discuss the many bioethical concerns that have only heightened with COVID-19’s spread.
Two Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Two Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Scott D. Halpern and Jennifer Prah Ruger are acknowledged for their outstanding accomplishments in ethics and health.
How can the world allocate COVID-19 vaccines fairly?
How can the world allocate COVID-19 vaccines fairly?
It’s an ethical question many Penn experts are contemplating. One fact is certain, they say: Distribution must not exacerbate disparities and inequities in health care.
Engaging Minds showcases Penn’s very best bringing theory to practice
Engaging Minds showcases Penn’s very best bringing theory to practice
Alumni tuned in from across the world to hear Daniel Gillion discuss the power of protests, Amy Castro Baker give a crash course on the impact of guaranteed income, and Ezekiel Emanuel detail the intricacies of distributing a COVID-19 vaccine.
Direct-to-consumer COVID-19 testing
Direct-to-consumer COVID-19 testing
Concerns over direct-to-consumer COVID-19 tests may override the benefits, with issues of safety, efficacy, and ethics in question.
Who should get the COVID-19 vaccine first?
Who should get the COVID-19 vaccine first?
A group of global experts led by Penn offer a model that lays the groundwork for fair distribution and prioritize reducing premature deaths.
President Gutmann kicks off 15th World Congress of Bioethics
President Gutmann kicks off 15th World Congress of Bioethics
‘The world has never needed you more than it needs you now,’ she told bioethicists, watching and listening virtually from their respective cities across the globe.
In the News
NPR
Amid record pandemic travel, what’s safe? And the debate over vaccine passports
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel spoke about so-called “vaccine passports” and privacy. “In public health there’s a principle that you should use the least restrictive method necessary,” he said. “This allows us to say, ‘Those people who’ve gotten vaccinated, you don’t have to adhere to certain restrictions because you are now immune.’”
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The Washington Post
Vaccines are about to become a free-for-all. Here’s how to ensure it’s done equitably
Harald Schmidt of the Perelman School of Medicine co-authored an op-ed calling for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution. “Three things are central: prioritizing more vulnerable communities; conveying that doing so is good for both public health and equity; and making clear that equity is not the enemy of efficiency,” Schmidt and his co-authors wrote.
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The New York Times
A Yale psychiatrist’s tweet about Dershowitz, her dismissal, and a lawsuit
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno said he hadn’t heard of anyone being disciplined by the American Psychiatric Association for breaking the Goldwater rule, which says it’s unethical for psychiatrists to issue professional opinions about public figures they haven’t examined.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
No, vaccine seekers, your condo is not a congregate living facility
Emily Largent of the Perelman School of Medicine explained why apartment buildings and condo associations shouldn’t encourage their residents to cut the COVID-19 vaccine line by claiming to live in “congregate settings.” “I would also like to be vaccinated,” she wrote. “But each of us has an ethical obligation to wait our turn.”
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The Washington Post
Age-based vaccine distribution is not only unethical. It’s also bad health policy
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and Emily Largent of the Perelman School of Medicine collaborated with Govind Persad of the University of Denver on an op-ed about equity in COVID-19 vaccine distribution models. “Age-only distribution is unethical, likely illegal and bad health policy,” they wrote.
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The New York Times
Can long-term care employers require staff members to be vaccinated?
Emily Largent of the Perelman School of Medicine and the Law School spoke about the ethics of paying employees to get vaccinated. “There’s good evidence from behavioral economics that offering money signals taking risks,” she said. “These vaccines really are safe and effective, so we don’t want to solidify people’s fears.”
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