Question

A great deal of information has been written in the popular press about the COVID-19 pandemic. In preparation for the discussion, which is meant to be a wide-ranging conversation about the ethical issues that arise during a pandemic like COVID-19, read articles in the popular press to help you understand the issues that are in conflict. Research the public health ethics professional literature to help you understand the authoritative role of public health during pandemics. Look for general principles rather than laws as laws differ from country to country and, in Canada, from province to province in smaller ways. Use your critical thinking skills!

You may attach files containing summaries or links to articles to your posts that complement what you have written.

To help you get started, here are some potential issues to investigate:

the common good vs. individual freedoms - a public health principle in many countries, and the overall issue in managing pandemics

flattening the curve and herd immunity

residential care for seniors

health security vs. economic security

mental health, social distancing, and work from home

allocation of scarce health resources

Answer 1

The pandemic COVID -19 health crisis has led to every one to restrictions on the individual rights in order t protect the society . as a whole and to ensure that the pandemic is managed as effectively as possible it could be . During th lockdown , the individual has the freedom of ordinary citizens has been subject to significant restrictions and these will continue well into the future . that raising the need to discuss onn it as a key ethical issues . that how should the peoplel balance individual freedom with the common goods . and to what extent can the state legitimately restrict teh liberties of its citizens in order to serve the common gods , furthermore , to what extent has the protection of the public's welfare been a pretext for the government to curtail or erode fundamental rights .

Herd immunity (also known as community immunity ) is defined as in the situation in which a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease ( through vaccination and / or prior illness ) to make its a spread from person to person unlikely . In the other words , where herd immunity exist - when lots of people in an area are vaccinated or have already been infected with a disease - fewer people get sick and fewer germs are able to spread from person to person

the people who are vaccinated , like newborn babies and the individual with chronic illnesses are affordable some level of protection because the disease can't spread within the community . and of course, there 's no vaccine for COVID -19 yet . , and develooping herd immunity would mean protecting the most vulnerable citizens while letting most everyone else catch and hopefully recover from the virus .

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have been severly affected by the outbreaks of coronavirus . Facilities are working with the state and local health departments to reduce the disease impact on residents and staff . As there are the some reflection on the potential health and psychological consequences , directly or indirectly brought on by COVID -19 to the olders living in long term care facilities , including nursing and reidential homes , hereafter referred to as nursing homes .

The growing COVID 19 death toll in nursing homes internationally has resurfeced the discussion and think upon on the care , quality , workforce and living conditions . It has also undermined public confidence in the nursing homes which were experiencing problems long before this crisis . Compared with same aged community dwelling older adults , nursing home residents accumulate more clinical complexity , multi - morbidity and frailty overtime . The USA has now the lower nursing hoem occupancy because alternative models for long terms services and support are often better suited to meet the older preference and needs . In other countries though , underdeveloped home care and also lack of integrated support for the older with complex care needs , and has led to increased demand , overwhelming LTC facilities and subsequently leading to more hospitalizations . These challenges highlight the need for a deep , open , societal discussion more on these topic in future and long term care model for older adults .

A pandemic represents a multifactorial global threat . In addition to the  obvious impact on the population health , pandemics also represents an important threat to the global economy . These important economic cost can potentially result in a ccomparable impact on population healthh , as all economic factors have a proven positive correlation with the key health status outcomes . Therefore , effective public health policy must always respect the impact of economic factors on population health as health and economic stability that remain as variables in a reinforcing feedback loop .

The realtionship between economic health and physical health is well described as the social determinants of the health combines social and economic status based on a combination of race , level of education , level of income and community which defines the charcterstics of a person's life that drive health related decisions and responses and determines the ability of an individual to both move up or down the socioeconomic ladder These implication emphasizes the importance of the economy in improving health outcomes through upword social mobility and importance of fair access to economic benefits .

Fear , worry and the stress are normal responses to percieved or real threats and at all times when we faced with uncertainty or th known . So it is normal and understandable that people are experiencing fear during pandemic COVID -19 . Added to the fear of contracting the virus in a pandemic such as COVID - 19 are the significant changes to our daily life as our movements are restricted in support of efforts to contain and slow down the spread of the virus .. Faced with the new realities of working from home , temporary unemployment,home - schooling of children and the lack of physical contact with other family members , friends , colleagues , it is important that we look after our mental ,as well as our physical health .

Social distancing also called physical distancing that means keeping a safe space between ourself and other people who are not from our household . To practice social or physical distancing , stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms ' length ) from other people who are not from our household in both indoor and outdoor spaces . social distancing should be practiced in the combination with other every day preventive actions to reduced the spraed of COVID -19 .

Emerging viral pandemics can place extraordinary and sustained demands on the public health and health systems . and on providers of essential community services such demands will create the need to ration medical euipments and interventions . Rationing is already exist . In the United States , perhaps teh earlies t example - was the near immediate recognition that there were not enough high filteration N-95 masks for health care workers , prompting contingency guidence on how to reuse masks disgned for single use . teh crucial resources such as intensive care beds and ventilators to patient who can benefits most from the treatment AS most of the countries COVID 19 cases faced a hospital bed shortage with some aptients dying at home while awaiting admission . In the united kingdom , protective gear requirements for the  health workers have been    downgraded , causing condemnation among providers . The rapidly growing imbalance between supply and demand for medical resources in many countries present an inherently normative form.