Question

Please write the essay on the topic PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE TO COVID- ​

Answer 1

Answer:

Few novel or emerging infectious diseases have posed such vital ethical challenges so quickly and dramatically as the novel coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, which causes Covid‐19. SARS‐CoV‐2 is thought to have originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China, in early December, making a zoonotic leap from a bat (through an animal intermediary) to a human. It rapidly spread throughout China with highly efficient human‐to‐human transmission and has now circumnavigated the globe, with a foothold in every continent except Antarctica. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern and recently classified Covid‐19 as a worldwide pandemic.

As of this writing, the epidemic peak has not yet been reached in the United States, but community transmission is widespread. President Trump declared a national emergency as fifty governors declared state emergencies1—a situation unprecedented in modern America. In the coming weeks, hospitals will become overrun, stretched to their capacities.

Widespread social separation is rapidly becoming the norm, with closures of schools and universities, telecommuting, bans on large gatherings, and millions of people isolated in their homes or makeshift facilities. Bans on international travel are already pervasive. Domestic travel restrictions are exceedingly rare but now within the realm of possibility. Officials are even ordering cordon sanitaires (guarded areas where people may not enter or leave), popularly described as “lockdowns” or mass quarantines. For example, San Francisco recently ordered a lockdown, with other cities and states closing gathering places (such as bars, restaurants, and movie theaters) and advising residents to shelter in place.

When the health system becomes stretched beyond capacity, how can we ethically allocate scarce health goods and services? How can we ensure that marginalized populations can access the care they need? What ethical duties do we owe to vulnerable people separated from their families and communities? And how do we ethically and legally balance public health with civil liberties?

Explanation: