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Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics EJAIB Vol. 31 (4) May 2021 www.eubios.info ISSN 1173-2571 (Print) ISSN 2350-3106 (Online) Official Journal of the Asian Bioethics Association (ABA) Copyright ©2021 Eubios Ethics Institute (All rights reserved, for commercial reproductions). Contents page so. Although there are a minority in most countries who Editorial: Ethics and COVID-19 Vaccines - D. Macer 205 are hesitant to receive a vaccine, many more people face Ethical considerations on COVID-19 immunization issues of access to receive a vaccine. It is a signiWicant and vaccines 206 ethical issue of our time to provide vaccines to people - Statement of the World Emergency COVID19 who will continue to live under direct threat of being Pandemic Ethics (WeCope) Committee (10 May 2021) infected with COVID-19 and of suffering serious health Exploring the ethics of a possible mandatory COVID-19 and other impacts. This disparity and delay also provides vaccination program in the Philippines 217 further opportunity for new variants to evolve over time. - Louiejabe Nuniala, Alpha Kassadra Acain, Nicole No country is safe, whether it is India, Brazil or others. Blain Bonifacio, Dennis Jambalos Jr., Veronica Julia Tizon, This statement took more time than most other Angela May Vergara, Maria Angela Villamora, Bernardo sttaements of the World Emergency COVID19 Pandemic Caslib, Jr. Ethics (WeCope) Committee, and during the multiple A short essay on pandemics and the nature of human discussions of the different drafts we could see the beings as depicted in three Japanese Wilms emergence of a number of recommendations relating to produced in the past 60 years 224 justice and access. In this issue the statement is also - Atsushi Asai and Taketoshi Okita folowed by an independent paper by Nuniala et al. Martin Heidegger: The art of living in the midst exploring the possibility that there might be compulsory of the global COVID-19 pandemic 228 vaccines in the Philippines. It is also of signifciant interest - Gerry Arambala that the European Comission has announced the Ethico-legal aspects of complications of an illegal introduction of vaccine passports from 1 June 2021, which abortion with trisomy 21 in Iran 234 will provide more rapid entry for persons into Europe for - Roya Rashidpouraie, Saeedeh Saeeditehrani, those who have undertaken a vaccination with a vaccine Mohamadnader ShariWi- Mina Rashidpouraei approved in Europe. Ethical issues and challenges of organ transplantation Although it has come to the attention of the journal that in Bangladesh 237 some people have diied after receiving a vaccine, we have - Tanvir Ahmed learned of far more persons who have died from Caring in the midst of suffering: Views of administrators, COVID-19 disease itself. Whether the COVID-19 pandemic faculty and staff of Cor Jesu College of the school’s has made people better able to calculate the risks to their mission and core value of compassion 242 health of their choices, and infectious diseases, could be a - Br. Ernesto Quidet, Jr. Rogelio P. Bayod, Erikka June positive outcome from the tragedy. The committee Forosuelo reccomends that the vaccine is a public good, though we Ordering information, Editorial Boad and policy 248 do not mention the issue of whether patents should be waived as this is a clear public emergency. Many have Editorial address, and all correspondence to: stated that the real delay in providing vacciens is in the Prof. Darryl Macer safe supply chain. Email: [email protected] There are also papers on regular topics of bioethics : from different countries, including a case study of Editorial: Ethics and COVID-19 Vaccines complications of illegal abortion in Iran, and challenges of organ transplantation in Bangladesh. The paper by One of the most hotly discussed issues of 2020 and Arambala takes us to a theoretical analysis of Heidegger., 2021 is the development and access to vaccines to help whereas that of Quidet et al. focuses on issues of protect people against COCID-19. At the time of writing administrators facing the economic challenges of two billion people in the world have received at least one measures taken to decrease the spread of COVID-19. dose of the vaccine, still leaving six billion to be vaccinated Please enjoy reading, and join the monthly conferences. - and more to be fully vaccinated, should they wish to do - Darryl Macer 206 Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 31(4) (May 2021) Ethical considerations on The approval of COVID-19 vaccines has added one further disease to the list of 26 diseases that have a COVID-19 immunization and vaccine approved as a preventive therapy (Gravagna et al., vaccines 2020). We note that there is an expanding list of vaccines against COVID-19 that have been granted emergency use Statement of the World Emergency COVID19 Pandemic authorization in many countries, and we do not discuss Ethics (WeCope) Committee (10 May 2021) the technical aspects of clinical trials assessed by appropriate regulatory authorities in many sovereign a. Preamble nations. The global focus has shifted to vaccines as a As an independent, multidisciplinary, and cross-cultural signiWicant means to bring the pandemic under control. committee comprised of ethicists from cultures and The timeliness of scientiWic research initiatives will be one nations across the world, we offer the following statement of the main "hallmarks" of the COVID-19 pandemic. The and recommendations on ethical issues associated with U.S. National Library of Medicine and U.S. National COVID-19 vaccines and immunization.1 Institutes of Health (NIH) lists around ten thousand The COVID-19 pandemic has raised several ethical studies related to COVID-19. From a medical and challenges. It is therefore unsurprising that public health pharmaceutical point of view, the main issue is the quality, authorities have turned to ethicists for advice when which is being assessed through the results of ongoing developing and implementing policies and measures in research in the global immunization drive. Quality is their pandemic response. This has created many dependent on the safety and efWiciency of the vaccines. opportunities for ethicists to enhance the moral quality of The more effective the vaccine is, the more impact it will public health decision-making. The statement includes have to control the pandemic. reWlections on the moral responsibility of getting There are certain key technical issues that will not be vaccinated, sharing information on the side effects and addressed further in this report. First even though a efWicacy of vaccines, and the rights and responsibilities of growing number of vaccines have been approved for each person in decision making. The discussion includes emergency use in different countries, there is less data considerations over the economic, political, commercial, with respect to the potential side effects of the vaccines to and Winancial implications related to the distribution of some vulnerable groups e.g., pregnant women, children, the vaccines. There are recommendations on the and persons with disabilities such as autism, and whether distribution of vaccines, immunization, immunity, justice, there are risks of blood clots to certain subpopulations, and ethical procedures related to public health and so on. Governments must exercise caution, while also information. gathering data and monitoring the evolution of recommendations for various groups. Especially while b. Immunization, immunity, and justice there are safety doubts, governments should not make We write this during one of the most dreadful pandemics vaccinations for anyone, particularly children with in modern human history caused by the coronavirus-19 intellectual disabilities, compulsory. Children were (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19), which continues to underrepresented during the vaccine trials (Branswell, have international, national, and local impacts. The moral 2020). However, after sufWicient information and and ethical responsibilities, obligations and abilities of all knowledge becomes available regarding the safety persons, communities, and nations of the international concerns, then any state or government may evaluate the community, to cooperate are especially signiWicant in situation and prescribe a morally acceptable approach. situations of emergency2 (WeCope. 2020a). Pregnant healthcare workers were provided options A vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the to take the experimentally approved vaccines in late 2020 production of antibodies and provide immunity against because they face a high risk from infection, but the one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent general recommendation for pregnant women was given of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated after just six months of collecting safety data. In most to act as an antigen without inducing the disease. Vaccines countries the vaccine immunization programs are being are scientiWically proven tools for controlling life- conducted as extensive clinical trials. Some countries with threatening infectious diseases by the active high immunization rates such as Israel, were provided immunization. They are among the most cost-effective access to a high number of vaccine doses in return for healthcare investments for public health services in world thorough clinical trial reporting. history. Vaccination has not only provided health Another technical issue is the scientiWic and medical protection, but also contributed to the
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