Social Implications

This New England Journal of Medicine article argues that “color-blind” crisis standards of care (CSC) plans fail to account for disproportionate burdens on communities of color and risk exacerbating existing health inequities. Existing state CSC plans often explicitly reject consideration Read More

This article reports the results of focus group and key informant interviews with clinicians regarding changes in their roles, identities, duties, and decision-making autonomy that may result from the need to implement crisis standards of care (CSC) during disaster triage, Read More

This article on the Health Affairs Blog from researchers at the Urban Institute and the University of Chicago argues that children’s needs should be at the heart of pandemic and recovery discussions, discusses the central role robust child care will Read More

This guidance from the EEOC clarifies the steps an employee should take to request reasonable accommodation from an employer based upon having a medical condition CDC indicates may put her at increased risk of Covid-19-related severe illness. The employee or Read More

This statement from over 40 health and medical associations, including the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, and the National Association of County and City Health Read More

This article discusses the city’s Strade Aperte pilot plan, which will temporarily expand sidewalks, bicycle lanes and reduce speeds in a significant share of the city’s downtown in an effort to maintain social distancing and reduced pollution levels seen during Read More

ProPublica outlines lessons learned from interviewing frontline officials and experts from Italy, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea about reopening society in the wake of the epidemic. To safely move to a more open society, the following 7 steps Read More

This article outlines lessons from the authors’ experiences as Western practitioners working in resource-denied settings to inform the response to COVID-19 for frontline healthcare workers in high-income countries, who are typically unaccustomed to vulnerability and resource scarcity at a national Read More

This article reports on revised state crisis standards of care (CSC) guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that addresses allocations of scarce critical care resources. As discussed in an earlier post, some lawmakers and advocates raised objections to Read More

This expert commentary addresses two key ethical issues facing healthcare professionals providing frontline care during the COVID-19 pandemic: allocation of scarce lifesaving resources and whether to respond despite risks involved. Regarding allocation of scarce resources, the article emphasizes first the Read More