COVID-19: The Declaration of Helsinki, Economy & Letting Herd Immunity Grow Quickly at What Expense

COVID-19: The Declaration of Helsinki, Economy & Letting Herd Immunity Grow Quickly at the Expense of Few Early Deaths!

After the Nazi experiments in concentration camps, WW-II, the #Nuremberg Code and the #Declaration of #Helsinki (DH) on the principles of ethical research concerning human subjects developed to respect the individuals, their right to self-determination and the right to make informed decisions.

Sweden did not force #physicalDistancing (FD) & facilitate #HerdImmunity to grow more quickly, considering the capacity of their health system not to be overwhelmed & lack of game-changing medicines & vaccines on the horizon. --- As a result more early deaths occurred than their neighbors, but they claimed that they would still die at later stages if FC were imposed. Similarly, some demand a reopening in the US & Canada, prioritizing the economy over the health of individuals. No one discussed ethics in this setting.

What if a drug or vaccine becomes available soon, excess cases that died at an early stage could have been prevented (enforcing FC postpones cases and deaths.)

Researchers working on #pandemic & arguing against enforcing the FC could be in breach of the Deceleration of #Helsinki. --- Public health ethics must also be debated.