Dr Sridhar Venkatapuram, Acting Deputy Director of King’s Global Health Institute, has explored this issue amongst others as co-editor of a new open-access publication analyzing the COVID-19 pandemic from the standpoint of law, ethics, and public policy.
The book, titled Vulnerable: The Law, Policy & Ethics of COVID-19, examines the pandemic’s impact on federalism, accountability, civil liberties, equity, labour, and global health, tackling issues ranging from ageism, mental health and global health to contagion containment and contact tracing apps.
Dr Venkatapuram co-edited the publication alongside Professors Colleen M. Flood, Vanessa MacDonnell and Sophie Theriault from the University of Ottawa and Dr Jane Philpott, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen's University.
In the book, the editors explain: ‘More than anything, this volume documents the vulnerabilities and interconnectedness made visible by the pandemic and the legal, ethical, and policy responses to it. These include vulnerabilities for people who have been harmed or will be harmed by the virus directly and those neglected or harmed by measures taken to slow its relentless march; vulnerabilities exposed in our institutions, governance, and legal structures; and vulnerabilities in other countries and at the global level where persistent injustices harm us all.”
Dr Sridhar Venkatapuram further explored the vulnerabilities and interconnectedness made visible by the pandemic, and the ethical necessity to centre human welfare and wellbeing in policymaking practice in a Spotlight on COVID interview.