Berman Institute Monthly Newsletter – January 2021

January 2021

Announcements

Johns Hopkins Discovery Awards: 2020 Awardees
Johns Hopkins University Research
Megan Collins and others from the eSchool+ Initiative were awarded funding for COVID-19 Related School Closings, Re-openings, and Household Mental, Social, and Economic Outcomes.

 

Cornell University, through Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability’s food security working group, in collaboration with the journal Nature Sustainability and with the participation of its sister journal, Nature Food, convened a year-long expert panel on ‘Innovations to build sustainable, equitable, inclusive food value chains.’ The panel has now released its report and summary. Jessica Fanzo served on the panel.

 

Mario Macis has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee on “A Fairer and More Equitable, Cost-Effective, and Transparent System of Donor Organ Procurement, Allocation, and Distribution”.

The task of this committee is to “to conduct a study to examine the economic (costs), ethical, policy, regulatory, and operational issues relevant to organ allocation policy decisions involving deceased donor organs.”

Events

January 7, 5:00 pm
How Do We Ethically Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines?
A Zoom discussion of ethical considerations around access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, as well as how we can work together to maximize their benefits. Jeffrey Kahn was a panelist.

January 13, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Grey Matters: What the History of Vaccines Can Tell Us About the Future
Panel features Berman Institute founder Ruth Faden and National Advisory Board member Reed Tuckson.

January 25, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Seminar Series – Sick to Debt: Fixing Our High Out-of-Pocket Health Care System
Duke University’s Peter Ubel will discuss why Americans enroll in high out-of-pocket insurance plans and the problems they present

January 25, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
From Discovery to Delivery: COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy
Berman Institute Advisory Board member Reed Tuckson joins a panel of public health experts and vaccine industry executives for this discussion presented by JHU’s Carey Business School and Business of Health Initiative

Publications

Click to view

Confronting medication scarcity in the era of COVID-19Clinical Ethics
Author: Yoram Unguru

Health Data Sharing to Support Better Outcomes:
Building a Foundation of Stakeholder Trust
National Academy of Medicine
Editors: Danielle Whicher, Mahnoor Ahmed, Sameer Siddiqi, et al.
Jeremy Sugarman served on the Research and Research Oversight Working Group that contributed to the publication

How Do Medical Students Perceive Diversity in Orthopaedic Surgery, and How Do Their Perceptions Change After an Orthopaedic Clinical Rotation?Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
Author: Rafa Rahman, Bo Zhang, Casey Jo Humbyrd, Dawn LaPorte

The importance of food systems and the environment for nutrition
The American Journal of Clinical Medicine
Authors: Jessica Fanzo, Alexandra L Bellows, Marie L Spiker, et al

Knowledge in Media Res: Toward a Media History of Science, Medicine, and TechnologyHistory and Theory
Author: Jeremy A. Greene

Living in the Hospital: The Vulnerability of Children with Chronic Critical IllnessJournal of Clinical Ethics
Authors: Alexandra R. RuthRenee D. Boss, Pamela K. Donohue, et al

Assessing training needs in health research ethics: a case study from the University of Zambia School of MedicineGlobal Bioethics
Authors: Gershom Chongwe, Bornwell Sikateyo, Linda Kampata, Joseph Ali, et al, including Nancy Kass

The processed food revolution in African food systems and the double burden of malnutritionGlobal Food Security
Authors: Thomas Reardon, David Tschirley, Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, et al, including Jessica Fanzo

Efficacy of a Multimedia Intervention in Facilitating Breast Cancer Patients’ Clinical Communication about Sexual Health: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial,” Psycho-Oncology
Authors: Jennifer Barsky Reese, Kristen A. Sorice, Whitney Pollard, et al, including Mary Catherine Beach

Fairness in drug prices: do economists think differently from the public?” Health Economic, Policy and Law
Authors: Antonio J. Trujillo, Taruja Karmarkar, Caleb Alexander, et al, including Jeremy Greene

Food and Climate,” Health Affairs
Author: Jessica Fanzo

SARS-CoV-2 safer infection sites: moral entitlement, pragmatic harm reduction strategy or ethical outrage? Journal of Medical Ethics
Authors: Megan F Hunt, Katharine T Clark, Gail GellerAnne Barnhill

Bundling innovations to transform agri-food systems,” Nature Sustainability
Authors: Christopher B. Barrett, Tim G. Benton, Karen A. Cooper, Jessica Fanzo, et al

Social, financial and psychological stress during an emerging pandemic: observations from a population survey in the acute phase of COVID-19,” BMJ Open
Authors: Rebecca Robillard, Mysa Saad, Jodi Edwards, et al, including Cynda Rushton

“The Role of Healthy Diets in Environmentally Sustainable Food Systems,” Food and Nutrition Bulletin
Authors: Michael Clark, Jennie Macdiarmid, Andrew Jones, et al, including Jessica Fanzo

42 policies and actions to orient food systems towards healthier diets for all,” Centre for Food Polict Research Brief
Authors: Corinna Hawkes, Stephanie Walton, Lawrence Haddad, Jessica Fanzo

Click to see full list

December 31

The life and death choices that determine when you will get vaccinated
WBTV
With comments from Jeffrey Kahn.

More babies could be delivered at home
The Baltimore Sun
Reader Commentary by Marielle Gross and Ryann Morales.

 

December 30

Hungry for change: Faulty food systems laid bare by COVID-19 and climate crises
Sight Magazine
With comments from Jessica Fanzo.

 

December 28

Medical Activism: A Foundation of Professionalism
Closler
Moral Resilience: Transforming Moral Suffering in Healthcare, edited by Cynda Rushton, is listed as recommended reading.

 

December 24

COVID-19 vaccine plan means some states will lag in getting shots to highest-risk groups
USA Today
With comments from Jeffrey Kahn.

 

December 23

7 ways to cope with moral distress during COVID-19
American Medical Association
Mark Hughes presented.

 

December 22

COVID-19 vaccine plan means some states will lag in getting shots to highest-risk groups
USA Today
With comments from Jeffrey Kahn.

Will pregnant women receive the Covid-19 vaccine? It depends
BBC News
With comments from Ruth Faden.

I’m a Pregnant Doctor. Should I Get the Covid Vaccine?
The New York Times
With comments from Ruth Faden.

 

December 21

This is the Stanford vaccine algorithm that left out frontline doctors
MIT Technology Review
With comments from Jeffrey Kahn.

 

December 20

The Ethics Of Who Gets The COVID-19 Vaccine And When
NPR
Ruth Faden was a guest.

 

December 19

Feds need COVID-19 vaccine data to track safety and fairness but some skeptics fret about privacy
The Dallas Morning News
With comments from Nancy Kass.

 

December 18

Teachers Vie for Covid-19 Vaccine Priority
The Wall Street Journal
With comments from Ruth Faden.

 

December 17

Debunked COVID-19 myths survive online, despite facts
WSB-TV 
With comments from Nancy Kass.

 

December 16

Why might women be less eager to get the coronavirus vaccine? An investigation.
The Washington Post
With comments from Ruth Faden.

 

December 15

Can the rich and famous skip the line and get vaccinated first? 
Yahoo! News

Ruth Faden was a guest.

How scarce will coronavirus vaccines be in the US?
Vox
With comments from Ruth Faden.

4 touchstones for end-of-life conversations during COVID-19
American Medical Association
Mark Hughes presented.

 

December 14

Pregnant in the pandemic? It helps to have good Wi-Fi.
MIT Technology Review
With comments from Marielle Gross.

Should Pregnant People Take the Vaccine? FDA and CDC Say That’s Up to Them.
New York Magazine: Intelligencer
With comments from Ruth Faden.

First doses of COVID-19 vaccine injected into health care workers in Maryland
The Baltimore Sun
With comments from Yoram Unguru.

Pregnant people should have opportunity to get COVID-19 vaccine, physician group says
ABC’s Good Morning America
Ruth Faden was a guest.

Johns Hopkins learning modules teach best practices for reducing COVID-19 risks during in-person learning
The Hub
With comments from Megan Collins.

 

December 11

Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women May Opt to Receive the Vaccine
The New York Times
With comments from Ruth Faden.

When Will Pregnant Women Benefit from a COVID Vaccine?
Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
With comments from Ruth Faden and Carleigh Krubiner.

Pregnant People Haven’t Been Part Of Vaccine Trials. Should They Get The Vaccine?
NPR
With comments from Ruth Faden.

 

December 9

FDA: Leave the door open to Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant and lactating health workers
STAT
Carleigh KrubinerRuth Faden and Ruth Karron are co-authors.

Medical research again leaves pregnant women waiting for a vaccine — this time for coronavirus
The Washington Post
With comments from Ruth Faden.

How to End This Pandemic, and Prepare for the Next One
The New York Times Dealbook D.C. Policy Project
Ruth Faden served as an expert.

Cooperate to prevent food-system failure
Nature Outlook
Jessica Fanzo writes.

 

December 8

Does the World Need a New Global Health Organization?
Foreign Affairs
Ruth Faden served as an expert.

 

December 5

Initial Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccine Won’t Include Pregnant People
NPR
Ruth Faden was a guest.

 

December 4

‘For greater good’: Black leaders in Baltimore work to overcome resistance to participating in COVID trials, other research
Baltimore Sun
With comments from Jeffrey Kahn.

 

December 3

What are emergency use authorizations, and do they guarantee that a vaccine or drug is safe?
The Conversation
Jeremy Greene and Christopher Robertson are co-authors.

COVID-19 vaccines not expected for pregnant people for some time
Good Morning America
With comments from Ruth Faden.

Bioethicist—Dr. Travis Rieder, PhD, Parts 1 & 2
PIHPS: The Professionals in Health Podcast Series
Travis Rieder was the featured guest.

 

December 2

Who will get the Covid-19 vaccine first? A CDC advisory panel just weighed in.
Vox
With comments from Ruth Faden.

 

December 1

Health care workers and long-term care residents should get COVID-19 vaccines first
Science News
With comments from Nancy Kass.

When Will Pregnant Women Benefit From a Covid-19 Vaccine?
The HUB
With comments from Ruth FadenCarleigh Krubiner, and Ruth Karron of PREVENT.

Data to Improve Global Diets
Johns Hopkins Magazine
An interview with Jessica Fanzo.

Outreach

COVID-19 Vaccine: Ethics and Equity
Yoram Unguru spoke at a Lifebridge Health Legislative Discussion.

 

Ethical Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines: Who, When, How, and Why
Yoram Unguru spoke at the Lifebridge Health Town Hall.

 

An Ethical Approach Towards Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccines in Health Care Settings
Yoram Unguru spoke at the Sinai Hospital Town Hall.

 

Let’s Talk Digital Ethics
Jeffrey Kahn was an invited panelist at the Network of Digital Evidence in Health’s 4th Annual NODE.health Digital Medicine Conference.

 

Reworking Justice in Research: The Time is Now
Jeremy Sugarman served as the moderator of this panel at the 2020 Advancing Ethical Research Virtual Conference, PRIM&R’s virtual conference.

 

National Equity and WHO SAGE Guidance
Ruth Faden presented at the Vaccine Allocation and Social Justice Conference.

 

Vaccine Ethics: What Are We Learning from COVID-19?
Hosted by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, this event was moderated by Jeffrey Kahn and Ruth Faden was a panelist.