Medical Ethics | Penn Today

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.”

Race versus time: Targeting vaccine to the most vulnerable is no speedy task

Harald Schmidt of the Perelman School of Medicine said that the U.S. has an opportunity to prove that it’s invested in repairing longstanding health disparities through the COVID-19 vaccine rollout process. “The longer-term implication of how we dealt with social justice will be very powerful—so we do have to get this right,” he said.

Mitchell Gutmann and Moreno at Power of Penn Zoom event

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

Scott D. Halpern and Jennifer Prah Ruger are acknowledged for their outstanding accomplishments in ethics and health.

Hands holding a box of COVID vaccine vials.

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

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.

Rubber gloved-hand reaching through a hole in a wall holding a home COVID test.

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.

Secret, powerful panels will pick COVID-19 vaccine winners

Susan Ellenberg of the Perelman School of Medicine said it’s important to keep data and safety monitoring boards anonymous to protect the members from people desperate for treatment. It “would be very hard to tell [a patient], ‘Oh I can’t help you.’ It’s an unreasonable burden,” she said.

Thousands of American troops to take part in COVID-19 early-detection study

PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno commented on plans to conduct a COVID-19 early-detection study on U.S. troops. “Should we ask for consent if it reveals medical issues that a person in uniform may not want revealed and is not relevant to job performance?” he asked.

FDA poised to announce tougher standards for a COVID-19 vaccine that make it unlikely one will be cleared by Election Day

Holly Fernandez Lynch of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on the FDA’s use of emergency authorizations to expedite coronavirus drugs. “Is the president going to put the screws to the FDA so much that they will speed ahead on a vaccine?” she asked.

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