When:
10-30 - 15-30 (London time); 25th March, 2021
Abstract:
This workshop addresses ethical tensions around notions of solidarity and responsibility which have arised in responses to COVID-19. During the pandemic, the young have had their freedoms restricted mainly for the sake of helping older members of society. As vaccinations are rolled out, there have been questions about whether a strategy of protecting the most vulnerable is the most efficient or effective guide to distributing scarce resources. To a large extent, however, public discourse has tended to downplay the societal tensions inherent in pandemic response. Instead, steps to guard against infection have been presented as both acts of self-interest and civic virtue: in “protecting the NHS” we are both protecting ourselves and others; in not taking a vaccine, we are both acting “irrationally” and posing a threat to others, whether directly, through transmission, or indirectly, through using scarce social resources. Do we have a responsibility not to transmit COVID-19, and how does this relate to proper policy response? How does this responsibility relate to the “opportunity costs” of using scarce social resources? How should we understand the relationships between generations? Are notions of solidarity an important ethical resource, or ways of hiding the tensions inherent in policy? This workshop brings together leading scholars in public health law, ethics and political science to discuss these issues.
Schedule:
10-30 Start
10-45 John Coggon
12-00 Barbara Prainsack
13-15 Break
14-00 Jessica Flaniagn
15-15 Discussion
15-30 End
Titles of talks will be released closer to the date of the workshop. Zoom links will be emailed to those who register for the event.
