Harnessing expertise to rapidly integrate ethical thinking into policy-making
The UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator is a new initiative that brings UK ethics research expertise to bear on the multiple, ongoing ethical challenges arising during pandemics. We provide rapid evidence, guidance and critical analysis to decision-makers across science, medicine, government and public health. We also support public debate on key ethical challenges.
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In this Ethical framework by Dr Beth W. Kamunge of the Public health and health inequalities workstream, the impact place has on health inequalities is explored.


UK Government’s ‘Plan B’ covid-19 measures passed through Parliament, but opposed by many of the Conservative Party. This piece focuses on MPs’ arguments against covid-19 certificates.

In this Ethical framework the Public health and health inequalities team explore societal inequalities and their impact on public policy relating to covid-19.

This rapid ethics review by the Prioritisation team looks at the ethics literature regarding the prioritisation of vaccines in a pandemic, which will serve to contextualise the UK’s approach to the prioritisation of vaccines for covid-19.

In this Rapid ethics review by the Prioritisation team, we highlight the moral dimensions that are relevant to assessing the moral permissibility of the various measures to increase covid-19 vaccination rates employed by different countries.

This Rapid ethics review by the Prioritisation team looks at the significant ethical challenges of whether or not children should be offered vaccination against covid-19, taking into account best interests, capacity to consent, vaccine mandates, and data governance issues.

This is a joint response by the Data use and Public health and health inequalities workstreams to the Department of Health and Social Care consultation on mandatory vaccination in the NHS.

This is a joint response by the Prioritisation workstream and The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics to the Department of Health and Social Care consultation on mandatory vaccination in the NHS.

This is a response by the Public health and health inequalities workstream to the UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee’s consultation, ‘An equal recovery’, looking at how different forms of inequality have been experienced by different demographics during covid-19.

This rapid ethics review by Jamie Webb of the Public values, transparency and governance workstream considers a number of examples of public engagement processes conducted during the pandemic so far, and discusses them in relation to three key themes.

In this review we assess why grade inflation is a risk, and to whom. But our review also finds that other serious issues are also at stake for students.

The Accelerator’s Data use workstream response to the NHSX Data Saves Lives Consultation

This page from the Accelerator’s public values, transparency and governance work stream tracks studies and projects involving public engagement and covid-19.

In this letter to the Editor, Cian O’Donovan responds to a paper in the BMJ on emerging technologies that may impact nursing and healthcare. He argues that the cultures and histories of nursing should not be seen as an impediment to this task as the authors suggest. But rather as a rich repository that can guide innovation away from imposing technologies of control, and towards building democratic infrastructures of care.
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