Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2014
Abstract
Vaccines and drugs to prevent and treat Ebola Virus Disease that have never been tested in humans, and in scarce supply raise profound ethical challenges. What if good evidence emerged demonstrating safety and efficacy of drugs? What would be an ethical method of allocating scarce beneficial resources? The apparent preference given to foreign aid workers over West Africans provoked a firestorm. In addition to discussing the ethical allocation of scarce drugs, this article also asks a more fundamental question: Why did it take nearly 40 years after the first Ebola outbreak in 1976 to launch clinical trials?
Publication Citation
Hastings Center Rep., Nov.-Dec. 2014, at 36-37
Scholarly Commons Citation
Gostin, Lawrence O., "Public Health Emergencies: What Counts?" (2014). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 1418.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1418
Included in
Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Public Health Commons, Public Policy Commons