By Julian Savulescu
Cross-posted from The Guardian
The race is on to find a treatment for coronavirus. This race is split between two approaches: the trialling of pre-existing drugs used for similar diseases, and the hunt for a vaccine. In both instances, important ethical decisions must be made. Is it OK to reassign a treatment that comes with side-effects? And with thousands dying from coronavirus every day, is it acceptable to cut corners in the search for a vaccine?
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/25/search-coronavirus-cure-vaccine-pandemic
A useful article prompting many valuable moral thought processes. For instance:
In emergencies are people frozen (or silenced) by fear becoming mere spectators, or react in a way reflecting their espoused values?
Do ethical social responses ordinarily truly reflect the state of the society expressing them?
When the gods are isolated does utilitarianism become more valuable or is that merely restricted to the field of action?
If life defines individuals does the immediacy of death provide a more definitive definition?
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