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Does Zero-COVID neglect health disparities?
Nancy S Jecker1,2, Derrick K S Au2
1School of Medicine, Department of Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA nsjecker@uw.edu.
Journal of Medical Ethics
|November 24, 2021
Summary
This paper compares COVID-19 elimination (Zero-COVID) and mitigation strategies, examining their ethical foundations and health equity implications. It proposes a balanced long-term approach for population health.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Bioethics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic prompted diverse global health strategies.
- Two prominent approaches are elimination ('Zero-COVID') and mitigation.
- These strategies differ in their goals, methods, and ethical underpinnings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the ethical basis of COVID-19 elimination and mitigation strategies.
- To examine the societal responses to risk influencing these policies.
- To propose a long-term strategy balancing population health and health equity.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of elimination and mitigation policies.
- Examination of ethical arguments for and against each strategy.
- Review of societal risk perceptions and their impact on policy.
Main Results:
- Elimination strategies (e.g., Zero-COVID) aim for zero transmission and deaths, using strict lockdowns and testing, prevalent in Pacific Rim nations.
- Mitigation strategies accept some disease and death, lifting restrictions upon meeting transmission targets, common in the US and Europe.
- Ethical objections to Zero-COVID include concerns about health equity.
Conclusions:
- Societal risk tolerance significantly shapes COVID-19 policy choices.
- A nuanced, long-term strategy is needed to balance public health promotion with health equity.
- Future pandemic responses must integrate ethical considerations and equitable outcomes.
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