CCBI Resources for Covid-19 – April 16, 2021

Dear Friends of CCBI,

We’ve passed the milestone of one year since we started the COVID-19 Bulletin. We’re reasonably sure that we have spelled out the most important ethical issues about the vaccines themselves, pointing our readers to some scientific experts who have greatly aided those of us who are asked for moral advice. We have discussed difficult questions about the composition of the vaccines and the magisterial teaching on accepting them, the most recent being issued by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in December 2020. We provided links to that teaching and to scientific charts issued by the Lozier Institute, and we know that, while more information about doses, side effects and statistics re COVID-19 cases will continue this year and for some time to come, the basic ethical questions remain the same. While we still receive questions about the vaccines, we only know as much as our readers in terms of daily or weekly changes, statements by politicians, public health officials, availability of vaccines and their roll-out, and so on. These socio-political questions also have ethical components, of course, and we plan to continue to report on them – but perhaps not as intensely, since we have other ethical questions to consider.

We are, however, acutely aware of the social and political questions raised by our society’s reaction to the pandemic, and it appears that at this stage most people have shifted to questioning the wisdom or not of federal and provincial policies. Many point out the lack of prudence in not being strict enough at the beginning of the pandemic, while others disagree with the imposition of even less stringent measures. Some are concerned about freedom of the person, freedom of religion and government powers of control, while others judge even the strictest measures to be proportionate in this ongoing pandemic. Our opinion is that the current wave is indicative of what happens when politicians are inconsistent – opening up areas when projected figures pointed to systems being overwhelmed, keeping schools open in hotspots when not even teachers were vaccinated, not paying attention to scientific and medical information about the dangers of variants until numbers reached the crisis point… but so many of us said all that at those times, pointed to all that, hoping against hope that the third wave would peter out. It didn’t; it’s worse than ever, and now younger people are also becoming seriously ill. At the same time, some progress has been made in the administration of vaccines, and personnel priorities have been somewhat re-arranged. Accompanying that is the lack of uptake of vaccines, whether or not due to social media scares or to genuine concerns about safety or previous harms is not entirely clear. Whatever the reasons, they have been more powerful among some than medical explanations – an interesting development, not always on the side of reason. Alas, we have now heard about delays in delivery of the Moderna Vaccine, putting the brakes on the ongoing, piecemeal vaccination program. Schools will no doubt stay closed in some provinces and further restrictions are likely in Ontario and BC, given the surge in outbreaks.

Analysis of the pandemic’s causes and effects has begun, with recommendations for specific policies to be in place in future. This was also done after the SARS crisis in 2002, but such plans and policies were shelved by subsequent governments. Perhaps government will now be more scientific in maintaining results of analyses over the long term, keeping practices and procedures in review in the future.

The new ‘National Institute for Aging’ based at Ryerson is a hopeful sign that there will be real improvements in these areas. CCBI hopes to be part of those forward-looking studies, along with our focus on end-of-life and palliative care, and we are looking forward to renewing our programs and webinars dealing with these issues. Along with monitoring the ethics of vaccines and their uptake, it is time to focus on the future and to reflect on how we might be involved in shaping it. Our future messages will take that approach, and we thank many of you for your positive (mostly!) response to this COVID-19 Bulletin and invite you to continue to visit our website for information updates on this and other bioethical issues.

Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us.

For fundamental human rights, let us pray to the Lord!

(Pope Francis’ intention for the month of April)

Moira and Bambi