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Why Should Clinicians Care About Infectious Disease Existential Hazards?
1Assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
AMA Journal of Ethics
|August 1, 2025
Summary
Pandemics pose an existential threat due to factors like climate change and bioterrorism. Clinicians must bolster public health, research, and vaccine promotion to mitigate these global risks.
Area of Science:
- Global Health Security
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Bioethics
Background:
- Pandemics represent a significant existential risk to humanity in the Anthropocene.
- Multiple factors exacerbate pandemic risk, including climate change, overpopulation, habitat destruction, thawing permafrost, geopolitical instability, and bioterrorism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the ethical obligations of clinicians in addressing existential pandemic threats.
- To advocate for strengthening global public health infrastructure and research.
Main Methods:
- Ethical analysis of clinician responsibilities in pandemic preparedness.
- Review of existing literature on pandemic risk factors and prevention strategies.
Main Results:
- Clinicians have ethical duties to enhance global public health systems and research.
- Promoting vaccination and fostering international collaborations are crucial for pandemic response.
Conclusions:
- Strengthening global public health is an ethical imperative for clinicians to combat existential pandemic threats.
- Scientific literacy serves as a vital defense against misinformation during health crises.
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