ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Clinical trials of COVID 19 vaccines and vaccination campaign: ethical issues
1 Novosibirsk National Research State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
2 OOO «Tsentr lechebno-profilakticheskikh tekhnologiy» (Center for Treatment and Preventive Technologies), Novosibirsk, Russia
Correspondence should be addressed: Veronika E. Goncharova
ul.Pirogova, 1, Novosibirsk, 630090: ur.liam@12anraV
Acknowledgments: author would like to thank Tatyana Aleksandrovna Sidorova, Associate Professor of the Department of Fundamental Medicine of Novosibirsk State University, for criticizing author's ideas, text editing and extensive assistance in preparing the article.
For many centuries, infectious diseases have posed a serious threat: epidemics and pandemics claim lives and multiply the burden on health systems and countries' economies. Humanity managed to defeat a number of infections only thanks to specific preventive measures, i.e., vaccination. In 2020, society faced the new COVID-19 virus that has swept the whole world. The situation required swift and decisive action, including in what concerned vaccine development. It has also raised a number of ethical issues. The article analyzes ethical issues related to clinical trials and vaccination against COVID-19 by studying the regulations, literary sources and bioethical incidents. The key problems identified are: human participation in clinical trials during a pandemic, availability and, simultaneously, voluntariness of vaccination, public confidence in the SARS-Cov-2 vaccines approved for clinical practice. The study showed that the basic principles of clinical trials, voluntariness and awareness, are violated. It was revealed that despite all the efforts of public organizations and WHO initiatives in the world, there is a pronounced imbalance in the availability of the developed vaccines, while the vaccination voluntariness principle is violated by application of various mechanisms to put pressure on people, and public confidence in the developed vaccines can be called insufficient. In general, the problem of vaccination against COVID-19 remains relevant and requires comprehensive discussion.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination, clinical trials of vaccines, voluntary vaccination, COVID-19 vaccine availability, SARS-Cov-2 specific prevention