Lesson 5

We will begin to focus on the development, implementation, and mandating of vaccines designed to protect human populations from infectious diseases, a realm of public health decision-making in which the common good and personal liberty have come into conflict.

In light of these readings, we will preview the Culminating Task.

Lesson Goals

Can I accurately overview central ideas, concepts, and issues presented in texts that address ethical issues related to public health and vaccines?
Can I unpack and understand the expectations of the unit’s Culminating Task, as it relates to the unit’s content and Central Question?

Texts

Core

- “Ethical Issues and Vaccines,” The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

- “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, 2015
- “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Markkula Center, Santa Clara University
- “Ethical Dilemmas in Protecting Individual Rights Versus Public Protection in the Case of Infectious Diseases,” Kai-Lit Phua, SAGE Publishing, 2013

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Academic Discussion Reference Guide

Question Sets

The Ethics of Public Health Decisions: Section 1 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

First in pairs and then as a class, we will discuss the information presented in the article “Ethical Issues And Vaccines,” comparing the text-based observations we have developed using the Analyzing Relationships Tool.

Join with a partner who has read closely and analyzed the same subsection of the "Ethical Issues and Vaccines" article:

US Vaccine Mandates and Objections
Vaccine Research and Testing
Informed Consent
Access Issues

Compare your Analyzing Relationships Tools, the key details you have noted, your analysis of their significance or meaning, and the concluding observations you have reached in response to the following question:

How does ethical debate about the prevention of infectious disease involve the balancing of the common good with individual rights or personal liberty?

Activity 2: Discuss – Write

We will examine more closely the four realms cited in the article in which ethical issues about vaccines play out. In reading teams, we will summarize one of the four areas for the class.

Move from partners to groups of four or five, all of whose members have analyzed the same subtopic from the "Ethical Issues and Vaccines" article.

Develop a short paragraph that summarizes the subtopic and the ethical issues it presents. Paraphrase key sentences and ideas.

Share your team’s summary with the class, then compare the four areas as they relate to the ethical debate of mandatory vaccination. Note how the four areas correspond to the Culminating Task subtopic questions, and the new questions you might have developed as a class.

Activity 3: Discuss – Read – Write

As a class, we will read the introductory sections of “Ethical Dilemmas In Protecting Individual Rights Versus Public Protection In the Case of Infectious Diseases.” In reading pairs or teams, we will closely examine one of the 12 specific ethical issues reviewed in the article and develop a summary for the class that connects the issue to other ethical lenses we have been studying.

Individually, read the first three sections of “Ethical Dilemmas in Protecting Individual Rights Versus Public Protection in the Case of Infectious Diseases” by Kai-Lit Phua.

As a class, identify and discuss key sentences from the abstract, introduction, and Approaches Overview, in response to the following questions:

What does the abstract tell you the article intends to discuss?
How would you summarize the second paragraph of the introduction and its ideas about what the control of infectious diseases necessitates and why?
How do the medical ethics and public health approaches listed in the Approaches Overview, and then further explained under the Ethical Issues section, relate to ethical issues, perspectives, and approaches we have been learning about?

Activity 4: Read – Write – Discuss

Individually, we will read about one of the 12 ethical issues overviewed in the article. We will prepare a one- to two-sentence summary to share with the class.

Read and annotate one of the 12 ethical issues assigned to you by your teacher.

autonomy
beneficence
nonmaleficence
justice
overall benefit to society
collective action
communitarianism
fairness in distribution of burden (across social groups)
The harm principle
paternalism
liberty-limiting continua
social justice and fairness (across social groups)
global justice

Based on your reading and note-taking, write a one- to two-sentence summary of what the article says about the ethical issue and its relationship to infectious diseases, the common good, and individual rights. Write down these terms and your definitions in your Vocabulary Journal.

In a class discussion, share and compare your summaries of the 12 ethical issues. Discuss the ways in which these issues are related to the ethical approaches we have studied previously, particularly to the balancing of the common good and individual rights.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss – Write

In light of the two articles we have just examined, and the other texts from section 1, we will preview the Culminating Task checklist.

Access the Culminating Task Checklist.

Reread and discuss the unit’s Central Question and the additional questions in light of the previous discussion about more current, compelling issues in public health that might alternatively be investigated.

Review the expectations of the task: to write an evidence-based argument that addresses the Central Question within the field of public health decision-making. Ask questions to clarify what will be expected of you as you plan, develop, and write your argument in Sections 3-5.

Take notes in your Learning Log as your teacher explains why and how you will first focus on Question 1 in the next section of the unit to learn about the history of a public health controversy, its ethical dimensions, and the various perspectives and arguments it has engendered.

Activity 6: Read – Write

For homework, we will initially read and think about the ethical dilemma we will be considering, discussing, and responding to in the next lesson. We will preview the Markkula Center’s framework for ethical decision making app so that we are prepared to navigate and use it during the next lesson.

For homework, access the Ethical Dilemma Handout, read through its parameters and questions, and begin to think about how you might respond to the dilemma.

Access the Markkula Framework for Ethical Decision Making website, and specifically the app that the center has created to present its process for ethical decision making. Navigate through the first few questions in the app to see how you will be using sliders to evaluate the decision you think you will make in terms of the five approaches: utility, rights, justice, common good, and virtue.

Write new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.

Activity 7: Read – View – Write

For homework, we will begin to research a question about infectious diseases and vaccines by reading a seed article and viewing an informational video.

Step 1

Read over the Section 1 Diagnostic Checklist.

Your homework for this lesson will have you start to work on this assessment by researching at least two questions for the following lesson. Eventually, you will work with a research team to research one question in-depth and then create a presentation to share your learning with an audience.

Step 2

For homework, access the Informational Research Questions and Sources Handout and determine which of the following questions you will research in the next two lessons:

What are viruses, and where do they come from?
How are infectious diseases transmitted among human populations?
How do we learn about infectious diseases through research?
What is immunity, and how is it developed in humans?
What is herd immunity?
What are vaccines, and how do they work?
Why should we develop and administer vaccines?
How are medicines, such as vaccines, developed, tested, and approved?
How are vaccines added to the US Immunization Schedule and mandated by states?
How might vaccines be used to fight new viruses and pandemic threats?

For your research question, find the Article & Source and the Video & Source access information in the handout. Use the access information to search for the article and video online.

Read the article and watch the video closely, noting in your Learning Log ideas and information you see as key takeaways from these sources in response to your research question. In the next two lessons, you will be working with a research team in your question area and should be prepared to share the takeaways you have identified.