COVID-19 pandemic: Ethical challenges of healthcare and research

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Lecturer of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt.

2 Professor of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt.

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic provokes a lot of ethical debates. Infected patients deserve appropriate medical support. The protection of health care providers and community members must be also considered. Achievement of the balance between patients' rights, frontline response workers (FRWs) rights, and communities' needs should be in agreement with medical ethics foundations. Patients with infectious diseases should be managed according to ethical principles; autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. COVID-19 infected patient has the right of acceptance or refusal of treatment. Nevertheless, the refusal of quarantine and infection control measures is not an option. To the moment, a lack of effective treatment for COVID-19 infection justifies the implementation of monitored emergency use of unregistered and experimental interventions (MEURI) if approved by the relevant authorities. Regarding critically ill COVID-19 infected cases, Egyptian law and Islamic jurisprudence incriminate all kinds of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. FRWs should not refuse treatment of COVID-19 infected persons and they must take the utmost safety precautions to avoid infection. In COVID-19 infection breaching confidentiality to health authority is a legal and ethical obligation. Regarding research, there is an urgent need for innovation of drugs or vaccines to control COVID-19 infection and the steps of the ethics of research might not be exactly followed. Thus, researchers must adhere to policies approved by Research Ethics Boards (REBs) during the crisis.

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