The 'Ethical' COVID-19 Vaccine is the One that Preserves Lives: Religious and Moral Beliefs on the COVID-19 Vaccine

Procedural Dimensions of Religious Exemptions to Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates: Promoting Clarity, Fairness, and Transparency in Applications

This study examines the procedural ethical considerations surrounding religious exemptions to Covid vaccine mandates, specifically focusing on immigrant healthcare personnel (HCP) and HCPs of color. It emphasizes communication issues with applicants by investigating exemption applications and their accompanying guidelines. While there is extensive literature on the ethical implications of religious exemptions, a notable gap remains in addressing the procedural aspects of religious exemption applications and their reviewing processes. The study scrutinized religious exemption application forms and accompanying guidelines from 32 selected non-teaching and teaching hospitals for the years 2022-2023. The findings highlight significant variability in exemption application criteria and processes across institutions. Importantly, many application forms lacked comprehensive procedural information, which may result in subjective evaluations and potential misinterpretations of non-Western and non-mainstream religious beliefs, especially those of immigrant HCPs and HCPs of color. The study proposes various strategies to advocate for more equitable and transparent procedures, underlining the significance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the religious exemption review process for vaccine mandates.

The experiences of community health workers when communicating with refugees about COVID-19 vaccines in Syracuse, NY: A qualitative study

Background

Refugees are among the most health-vulnerable members of society. Despite the importance of vaccination to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19 infection, ensuring adequate access and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine remains a pressing concern for refugee populations. Research has suggested that community-oriented approaches and open communication with trusted individuals are essential to address this challenge. Vaccine outreach efforts were performed in Syracuse, NY, by Community Health Workers (CHWs) as trusted refugee community members. This study explored CHWs' experiences during vaccine outreach and perceptions about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among refugees, including barriers and facilitators to vaccination.

Methods

A qualitative study was performed using thematic analysis following six semi-structured interviews with CHWs.

Results

Four main themes supported by 16 sub-themes were extracted. CHWs described the (1) diverse beliefs and attitudes of refugees by ethnic group, with most having low vaccine acceptance at first. (2) Barriers included contextual barriers, lack of awareness, misinformation, and withdrawal when forced from vaccine mandates. However, CHWs also identified numerous (3) facilitators to vaccination, including the internal processing and eventual vaccine acceptance, supported by external messaging by CHWs and time. Culturally sensitive intervention strategies occurred through (4) CHW team efforts and their provision of reliable information to refugee clients, with openness and over time. The team efforts of CHWs significantly contributed to refugee acceptance and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Conclusions

This study revealed how the refugee population changed their belief towards the COVID-19 vaccine through trust, time, and reliable information provided by CHWs and describes culturally sensitive strategies for vaccine uptake by refugees. CHWs' reflection on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among refugees during outreach efforts is an essential perspective when implementing future public health interventions.

The public's knowledge about child sexual abuse influences its perceptions of prevention and associated policies

BACKGROUND

Child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention requires efforts from all members of society.

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to examine factors associated with (1) perceptions of CSA as unpreventable and (2) support for policies to prevent CSA and to punish people who perpetrated CSA. We focused on the roles of knowledge and misperceptions about child sexual abuse.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

We collected survey data online from a large (N = 5068), nationally representative sample of adults in the United States.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed factors promoting perceptions of CSA as unpreventable. Support for or against policies that aim to prevent CSA or to punish perpetrators of CSA were associated with individual factors such as older age (B = 0.08, -0.13), Republican political affiliation (B = 0.10, 0.07), and misperceptions about CSA (B = 0.15, 0.06).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight malleable factors that could be targeted to collectivize calls for CSA prevention and to promote support for effective policies to prevent CSA. In particular, ensuring accurate knowledge about CSA, and collective responsibility and government efficacy specific to CSA prevention, were identified as helping shape views of CSA as preventable.

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates and Vaccine Hesitancy among Black People in Canada

OBJECTIVES

COVID-19 vaccine mandates increased vaccination rates globally. Implemented as a one-size-fits-all policy, these mandates have unintended harmful consequences for many, including Black Canadians. This article reports findings on the interconnectedness of vaccine mandates and vaccine hesitancy by describing a range of responses to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies among Black people in Canada.

METHODS

Using qualitative research methods, semi-structured interviews with 36 Black people living in Canada aged 18 years and over across 6 provinces in Canada were conducted. Participants were selected across intersectional categories including migration status, income, religion, education, sex, and Black ethnicity. Thematic analysis informed the identification of key themes using Foucauldian notions of biopower and governmentality.

RESULTS

Our results show how the power relations present in the ways many Black people actualize vaccine intentions. Two main themes were identified: acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in the context of governmentality and resistance to vaccine mandates driven by oppression, mistrust, and religion.

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 vaccine mandates may have reinforced mistrust of the government and decreased confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine. Policy makers need to consider non-discriminatory public health policies and monitor how these policies are implemented over time and across multiple sectors to better understand vaccine hesitancy.

COVID-19 vaccination in children as a global dilemma through an ethical lens: A retrospective review

Background and Aims

COVID-19 pandemic led to a need to rapidly vaccinate as many people as possible. Children are an important part of the population with different characteristics which vaccinating them is a matter of great importance as it should be decided considering all aspects and ethics. Here, we present different aspects of COVID vaccination in children including the potential challenges.

Methods

We searched on PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus in this regard, and all of the relevant papers published until June 28, 2021 were included if we could access their full-texts.

Results

We found various expert opinions in this regard and tried to summarized them. Saving lives has similar ethical value as preventing evitable adverse event. Accordingly, mandating the children to receive the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, needs risk-benefit weighing with special consideration of ethical challenges.

Conclusion

Considering the vast range of benefits resulted from pediatric vaccination both for the children and the community, implementing the program in a scientific manner and also with the least financial expenses for the families seems to be reasonable and makes it both ethical and moral.

Current clinical status of new COVID-19 vaccines and immunotherapy

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a positive-strand RNA belonging to Coronaviridae family, along with MERS and SARS. Since its first report in 2019 in Wuhan, China, it has affected over 530 million people and led to 6.3 million deaths worldwide until June 2022. Despite eleven vaccines being used worldwide already, new variants are of concern. Therefore, the governing bodies are re-evaluating the strategies for achieving universal vaccination. Initially, the WHO expected that vaccines showing around 50-80% efficacy would develop in 1-2 years. However, US-FDA announced emergency approval of the two m-RNA vaccines within 11 months of vaccine development, which enabled early vaccination for healthcare workers in many countries. Later, in January 2021, 63 vaccine candidates were under human clinical trials and 172 under preclinical development. Currently, the number of such clinical studies is still increasing. In this review, we have summarized the updates on the clinical status of the COVID-19 and the available treatments. Additionally, COVID-19 had created negative impacts on world's economy; affected agriculture, industries, and tourism service sectors; and majorly affected low-income countries. The review discusses the clinical outcomes, latest statistics, socio-economic impacts of pandemic and treatment approaches against SARS-CoV-2, and strategies against the new variant of concern. The review will help understand the current status of vaccines and other therapies while also providing insights about upcoming vaccines and therapies for COVID-19 management.

Religious Concerns About COVID-19 Vaccines: From Abortion to Religious Freedom

In the midst of the debate about vaccines against COVID-19 and vaccine mandates, there are a surprisingly large number of concerns coming from some churches centring on the dependence of some of the vaccines on historic abortions and limitations of freedom of choice. Although the ethical significance of separation between historic abortions and the vaccines has been widely accepted by most religious authorities, the pandemic has led to renewed concern by some. The emergence of vaccine mandates, with their potential negative impact on church attendance, has led some to oppose anything that would limit freedom of choice. Within this opposition is a medley of other messages, such as lack of trust in experts and human rights violations. Some regard vaccine passports as a form of 'medical apartheid' or 'therapeutic totalitarianism', coercing people's conscience. A countervailing perspective is provided by most church organizations that take a far more communitarian view based upon Jesus' teachings, identification with the poor and marginalized, and public health considerations. These Christians place far greater store on science as a gift from God, medical science as a means of transforming societies for good, and the potential of vaccines to control a rampant pandemic. Flexibility in imposing vaccine mandates is essential with onus placed on protecting the vulnerable, the community, and directed by the biblical precept of love for one's neighbour.

In Defense of Vaccine Mandates: An Argument from Consent Rights

This article will focus on the ethical issues of vaccine mandates and stake claim to the relatively extreme position that outright requirements for people to receive the vaccine are ethically correct at both the governmental and institutional levels. One novel strategy employed here will be to argue that deontological considerations pertaining to consent rights cut as much in favor of mandating vaccines as against them. The presumption seems to be that arguments from consent speak semi-definitively against forcing people to inject something into their bodies, and so any argument in favor of mandates must produce different and overriding logical and ethical considerations. Our central claim will be that the same logic that might seem to prohibit vaccine mandates as violations of consent actually supports such mandates when viewed from the perspective of the potential bystander who might otherwise be exposed to COVID-19.

COVID-19 Anti-Vaccine Sentiments: Analyses of Comments from Social Media

PURPOSE

This study analyzed the insights and sentiments of COVID-19 anti-vaccine comments from Instagram feeds and Facebook postings. The sentiments related to the acceptance and effectiveness of the vaccines that were on the verge of being made available to the public.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The qualitative software QSR-NVivo 10 was used to manage, code, and analyse the data.

RESULTS

The analyses uncovered several major issues concerning COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The production of the COVID-19 vaccine at an unprecedented speed evoked the fear of skipping steps that would compromise vaccine safety. The unknown long-term effects and duration of protection erode confidence in taking the vaccines. There were also persistent concerns with regard to vaccine compositions that could be harmful or contain aborted foetal cells. The rate of COVID-19 death was viewed as low. Many interpreted the 95% effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine as insufficient. Preference for immunity gains from having an infection was viewed as more effective. Peer-reviewed publication-based data were favoured as a source of trust in vaccination decision-making.

CONCLUSIONS

The anti-COVID-19 vaccine sentiments found in this study provide important insights for the formulation of public health messages to instill confidence in the vaccines.