Readers of the article by Thomas and Young1 will be interested to know that the Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Project was completed in 2010. A broadly based panel developed frameworks for ethically rationing several types of health resources in a severe influenza pandemic: antiviral medications, N95 respirators, surgical masks, vaccines, and mechanical ventilators. The panel’s recommendations2 are distinguished by (1) the extensive public engagement used to develop its guidance3; (2) a realization that multiple ethical frameworks are required; (3) commitments to balance multiple ethical objectives in each ethical framework; (4) sustained attention to the needs, interests, and perspectives of socially vulnerable groups4; and (5) signaling when it may be appropriate to consider age and prioritize younger people before older people—especially children before adults—among groups who are at the same relative risk of morbidity and mortality. All told, more than 600 people participated in the project, including the general public, expert advisers from multiple disciplines, and stakeholders with particular professional and organizational perspectives. The Web site referenced in the article by Thomas and Young is no longer active. Final project reports are available at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/ethics.
Acknowledgments
The Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Project was sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Health with funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
References
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