User:Leilamilanfar/Medical ethics

History — COVID-19
In December 2019, the virus COVID-19 emerged as a threat to worldwide public health and, over the following years, ignited novel inquiry into modern-age medical ethics. For example, since the first discovery of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China and subsequent global spread by mid-2020, calls for the adoption of Open Science principles dominated research communities. Some academics believed that Open Science principles — like constant communication between research groups, rapid translation of study results into public policy, and transparency of scientific processes to the public — represented the only solutions to halt the impact of the virus. Others, however, cautioned that these interventions may lead to side-stepping safety in favor of speed, wasteful use of research capital, and creation of public confusion. Drawbacks of these practices include resource-wasting and public confusion surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as treatment for COVID-19 — a combination which was later shown to have no impact on COVID-19 survivorship and carried notable cardiotoxic side-effects — as well as a type of vaccine hesitancy specifically due to the speed at which COVID-19 vaccines were created and made publicly available. However, Open Science also allowed for the rapid implementation of life-saving public interventions like wearing masks and social distancing, the rapid development of multiple vaccines and monoclonal antibodies that have significantly lowered transmission and death rates, and increased public awareness about the severity of the pandemic as well as explanation of daily protective actions against COVID-19 infection, like hand washing.

Other notable areas of medicine impacted by COVID-19 ethics include:


 * Resource rationing, especially in Intensive Care Units that did not have enough ventilators or beds to serve the influx of severely ill patients.
 * Lack of PPE for providers, putting them at increased risk of infection during patient care.
 * Heavy burden on healthcare providers and essential workers during entirety of pandemic
 * Closure of schools and increase in virtual schooling, which presented issues for families with limited internet access.
 * Magnification of disparities in health, causing the pandemic to impact BIPOC and disabled communities more so than other demographics worldwide.
 * Closure of businesses, offices, and restaurants resulted in increased unemployment and economic recession.
 * Vaccine hesitancy.
 * Refusal to mask or social distance, increasing transmission rates.
 * Cessation of non-essential medical procedures, delay of routine care, and conversion to telehealth as clinics and hospitals remained overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

The ethics of COVID-19 spans many more areas of medicine and society than represented in this paragraph — some of these principles will likely not be discovered until the end of the pandemic which, as of September 12th, 2022, is still ongoing.