Vaccines against Covid-19: Two ethical dilemmas to consider
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Published:
Jan 4, 2021
Keywords:
vaccine development, human challenge trials, ethical distribution, SARS-CoV-2
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Abstract
The Covid-19 epidemic has altered and redefined the capacity of health systems around the globe, while being a challenge for bioethicists who must focus on issues such as the ethical process of vaccine development, and the strategies to be followed, to ensure fair and equitable distribution of these vaccines. Human challenge trials and their ethical implications are discussed, as a possible way to accelerate the availability of vaccines against Covid-19. Another ethical problem that is discussed is the global dilemma that will have to be faced to ensure a universal and accessible vaccine. Some viable strategies for the distribution of vaccines, both worldwide and at the local level are presented. Different philosophical viewpoints are presented regarding both problems, offering diverse arguments and answers to the ethical dilemmas exposed.
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How to Cite
Zonenzsain Laiter, Y. (2021). Vaccines against Covid-19: Two ethical dilemmas to consider. Revista De Medicina Y Ética, 32(1), 215–231. https://doi.org/10.36105/mye.2021v32n1.06
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Medicina y Ética is distributed under a Creative Commons License Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.
The author keeps the property rights with no restriction whatsoever and guarantees the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work. The author is free to deposit the published version in any other medium, such as an institutional archive or on his own website.
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N.Z: 1995). 1° de junio de 2020; 26(5): 29.
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2019: a model-based analysis (2020). 1° de abril de 2020; vol 20; 669.
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2020.
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de agosto de 2020]. Recuperado en: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/
2016/02/25/468120804/why-scientists-hope-to-inject-some-people-with-zika-virus
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19 health technologies. [Consultado el 25 de agosto de 2020]. Recuperado en:
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collaboration-to-accelerate-new-Covid-19-health-technologies
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therapeutics and vaccines. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.
7 de mayo de 2020; 323(24): 2462. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.6641
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en vacuna «Sputnik V». 2020. [Consultado el 7 de septiembre de 2020]. Recuperado
en: https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/na cion/vacuna-contra-Covid-19-ya-hayinvitacion-
de-rusia-mexico-para-participar-en-vacuna-sputnik-v. https://doi.org/10.24215/166965 81e471
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https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2020-106516
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en: https://www.gavi.org/
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cepi.net/news_cepi/172-countries-multiple-candidate-vaccines-engaged-in-Covid-
19-vaccine-global-access-facility/. https://doi.org/10.1021/cen-09819-buscon4
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middle-income countries as early as 2021. [Consultado el 25 de agosto de 2020].
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doses-available-low-and-middle-income-countries-2021. https://doi.org/10.
1136/bmj. m3857
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https://www.unotv.com/nacional/astrazeneca-y-fundacion-carlos-slim-produciranvacuna-
contra-covid-19-para-america-latina/ https://doi.org/10.18235/0002587
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24(3): 399-440. https://doi.org/10.1017/s095382081200009x
28. Emanuel EJ, Persad G, Upshur R, Thome B, Parker M, Glickman A, et al. Fair
allocation of scarce medical resources in the time of Covid-19. N Engl J Med.
2020; 382(21): 2049-2055. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmsb2005114
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to protect the old? Journal of Law and the Biosciences. 26 de junio de 2020.
https://doi. org/10.1093/jlb/lsaa050