Deck 13: Pandemic Ethics

Question 1

To fully understand the moral questions involved with the COVID-19 pandemic, we must understand the nature of the

A) virus.
B) transmission rate.
C) danger.
D) financial costs.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Those most likely to have very serious symptoms if they are infected with COVID-19 are _______ and people with pre-existing medical conditions.

A) teens
B) older people
C) children
D) middle-aged females

Answer 2

B

Question 3

COVID-19 is transmitted very easily from one person to another, mainly through

A) skin contact with someone who has COVID-19.
B) respiratory droplets produced by people with COVID-19.
C) sharing food with someone who has COVID-19.
D) contact with the blood of someone who has COVID-19.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is not a CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guideline for slowing the spread of the virus?

A) Wear a mask
B) Stay six feet from others who don't live with you
C) Refrain from exercise if you are infected
D) Avoid crowds

Question 5

Many _______ questions about COVID-19 appear when health care workers try to decide how to allocate scarce medical resources.

A) moral
B) legal
C) economic
D) academic

Question 6

Which of the following is not a factor which ethicists think must be avoided for consideration when allocating limited resources?

A) A person's wealth
B) A person's social status
C) A person's fame
D) A person's likelihood to survive

Question 7

The moral principle of _______ relates to a person's rational capacity for self-governance or self-determination.

A) equality
B) fairness
C) autonomy
D) respect for persons

Question 8

The moral principle of _______ relates to people getting what is fair or what is their due.

A) justice
B) autonomy
C) respect for persons
D) freedom

Question 9

The moral principle of _______ says that persons are possessors of ultimate inherent worth and must be treated as such.

A) justice
B) autonomy
C) freedom
D) respect for persons

Question 10

Many refuse to wear masks, social distance, or get the vaccine on the grounds that taking those precautions would

A) violate their rights.
B) be too much trouble.
C) not protect certain people.
D) be useless.

Question 11

According to Sandel, resistance to wearing a mask is not about public health but is about

A) politics.
B) justice.
C) lack of information.
D) effectiveness.

Question 12

Which is not one of the four fundamental values related to allocation of resources discussed by Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al?

A) Maximizing the benefits
B) Treating people equally
C) Giving priority to those who can pay
D) Promoting and rewarding instrumental value

Question 13

Saving more lives and more years of life is consistent with

A) utilitarian ethical perspectives.
B) the law.
C) some medical protocols.
D) allocating on a first-come, first-served basis.

Question 14

Limited time and _______ in a COVID-19 pandemic make it justifiable to give priority to maximizing the number of patients that survive treatment with a reasonable life expectancy and to regard maximizing improvements in length of life as a subordinate aim.

A) money
B) information
C) health care workers
D) medication

Question 15

Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al argue that critical COVID-19 interventions such as testing, PPE, ICU beds, ventilators, therapeutics, and vaccines, should first go to

A) infected people most likely to survive.
B) infected people with underlying medical conditions.
C) front-line health care workers.
D) people who have won a lottery designed for random allocation.

Question 16

First-come, first-served medication or vaccine distribution would

A) encourage crowding and even violence.
B) ensure fair allocation of resources.
C) be the most effective way to distribute resources.
D) help to increase survival rates.

Question 17

Invoking the value of saving the maximum number of lives justifies giving _______ priority for vaccines immediately after health care workers and first responders.

A) young people
B) older persons
C) those who have already had COVID-19
D) teachers

Question 18

Many guidelines agree that the decision to withdraw a scarce resource, such as ventilators or ICU support, from one patient to save others is

A) murder.
B) illegal.
C) requires the patient's consent.
D) not an act of killing.

Question 19

The COVID-19 pandemic is both a worldwide human tragedy and a moral catastrophe.

Question 20

COVID-19 is a coronavirus that hasn't been seen in humans before.

Question 21

COVID-19 provokes less serious illness than the flu but spreads faster.

Question 22

People infected with COVID-19 must be showing symptoms to spread the virus.

Question 23

Some people cannot get COVID-19 and cannot spread it.

Question 24

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine ensures that one cannot be infected with COVID-19.

Question 25

Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 yourself may also protect people around you.

Question 26

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine may help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.

Question 27

Maximizing benefits to patients can mean either saving the most lives or saving the most life-years.

Question 28

COVID-19 has also exposed fundamental moral issues relating to poor and minority communities.

Question 29

Segregation and other social and economic inequities have led to higher rates of African Americans contracting the coronavirus.

Question 30

The moral principle of autonomy relates to the ability to direct one's own life and choose for oneself.

Question 31

Philosophers agree that moral principles are absolute.

Question 32

Respect for persons is the moral principle which says that persons are possessors of ultimate inherent worth and must be treated as such.

Question 33

Many Americans consider mask mandates a violation of individual liberty.

Question 34

According to Sandel, American individualism is a strength in dealing with a pandemic.

Question 35

According to Sandel, the single greatest responsibility of leaders in times of crisis is to inspire trust.

Question 36

Although medical treatment in the United States is often restricted to those able to pay, no proposal endorses ability-to-pay allocation in a pandemic.

Question 37

The value of treating people equally in a pandemic could be attempted by random selection, such as a lottery.

Question 38

In the context of a pandemic, the value of maximizing benefits is least important.

Question 39

Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al believe that removing a patient from a ventilator or an ICU bed to provide it to others in need is justifiable.

Question 40

According to Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al, there should be no difference in allocating scarce resources between patients with COVID-19 and those with other medical conditions.

Question 41

What are some of the moral questions specific to the COVID-19 pandemic? Which do you think are most important? Least important?

Question 42

What are some of the facts about COVID-19 that make it so complicated to deal with from a moral perspective?

Question 43

What are some of the facts about the vaccine that relate to moral questions about getting vaccinated?

Question 44

What are some moral questions faced by health care workers specifically?

Question 45

What are some of the moral principles that must be balanced when making decisions about allocating resources in a pandemic? Do you think certain principles are more important to consider than others?

Question 46

Discuss the approaches to allocating resources that ethicists agree should not be used. Do you agree? Explain.

Question 47

What is meant by operationalizing the value of maximizing benefits? How does this impact decision-making when treating people for COVID-19?

Question 48

Respond to the following quote from Laurie Zoloth, an ethicist at the University of Chicago: "Freedom should not come at the expense of justice. In America, we once had a vision of freedom in which sacrifice was inherent: People sacrificed their very lives for the freedom of others. We've let that vision devolve into one of mere personal preference." Do you agree with her? Disagree? Explain.

Question 49

According to Sandel, what are our moral obligations while dealing with the pandemic? Do you disagree with any of his claims about our obligations?

Question 50

What reasons does Sandel give for why American attitudes about self-sacrifice are different now from what they were during other difficult periods in American history? Do you agree with him about current attitudes?

Question 51

Sandel says that trust matters a great deal in a pandemic. What does he mean by this? Do you agree with him?

Question 52

Respond to the following from Sandel: "From the outset of this crisis, we've heard the slogan, 'We are all in this together.' We hear it from politicians, advertisers, and celebrities. It evokes our mutual dependence and vulnerability in the face of COVID-19. It points to an inspiring ideal. But it rings hollow, because we know it doesn't describe the facts on the ground." What examples does he give in support of his claim?

Question 53

What are the four fundamental values related to allocation of resources discussed by Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al? Explain what each means.

Question 54

Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al write "[u]ndoubtedly, withdrawing ventilators or ICU support from patients who arrived earlier to save those with better prognosis will be extremely psychologically traumatic for clinicians - and some clinicians might refuse to do so. However, many guidelines agree that the decision to withdraw a scarce resource to save others is not an act of killing and does not require the patient's consent." What is your response to this claim? Do your views change if the person in question is yourself? A family member?

Question 55

Emanuel, Persad, Upshur, et al write "we believe guidelines should be provided at a higher level of authority, both to alleviate physician burden and to ensure equal treatment." What is your response to this claim? Do you agree that authority about such matters should not be given to physicians? Explain.