Ethical Dilemma in Global Vaccine Cooperation and Its Countermeasures: Taking the Global Eradication of Smallpox as an Example / 中国医学伦理学

Vaccine cooperation is an important means to deal with global infectious diseases. However, the cooperation cannot be achieved overnight. Ethical dilemma is one of the obstacles that hinders vaccine cooperation. Reviewing the history, the most successful vaccine collaboration to date has been the global smallpox eradication program. In the process of eradicating smallpox, there were also many ethical dilemmas, including the international pattern of the US-Soviet hegemony, which impacted the mutual help between countries, the ethical disputes of the vaccine itself hindering solidarity and cooperation among actors, and the vaccine coercion adopted to overcome vaccine hesitancy undermining the principle of proportionality among the freedom, equality and efficacy. The ethical dilemmas of vaccine cooperation were resolved by shaping professional and scientific consensus among medical professional groups, reaching consensus on cooperation between leading countries and developing countries, and integrating local culture to improve vaccination methods. Finally, in 1980, the world successfully eradicated smallpox. The case of smallpox eradication provides us lessons for vaccine cooperation against COVID-19 and the construction of a community of common health for mankind today.

Ethical Dilemma of "Virus Sovereignty" / 中国医学伦理学

The concept of "virus sovereignty" proposed by Indonesia in 2007 challenges the international tradition of virus sharing. In the context of the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019, the issue of virus sharing has become an important topic in the reform of the global health governance mechanisms. Virus sharing is an important guarantee of dealing with major global infectious diseases. However, the emergence of the concept of "virus sovereignty" shows that there are defects in the operation of virus sharing mechanism in the international community. The "virus sovereignty" problem is an ethical issue essentially, involving asymmetric interests hindering unity and cooperation, intellectual property rights expansion challenging the principle of solidarity, and excessive self-defense amplifying utility risks. "Community of common health for mankind" provides a constructive and feasible option to solve the dilemma of "virus sovereignty".

Discussion on the Generation Logic of the Concept A Community of Common Health for Mankind from the Perspective of the History of Struggle between Human Beings and Epidemics / 中国医学伦理学

For thousands of years, epidemics have always been with life. A history of human civilization is also a history of human and epidemic unremitting struggle. The historical battle between human beings and epidemic diseases contains the idea of a community of common health for mankind for mankind. The ancient Chinese people left the world with rich wisdom and experience in the fighting against epidemic. The public health campaigns of modern Europe countries also effectively resisted the invasion of the epidemic. Facing both changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic, although the international health governance institutions represented by the WHO have done a lot of organization and coordination work in the prevention and control of the COVID-19, they still face many difficulties such as financial support, dispute resolution, and power erosion. The contemporary emergence of the concept of a community of common health for mankind for mankind is a vivid portrayal of the focus and implementation of the human destiny community idea in the field of public health. It inherits the profound Marxist theoretical foundation and distinct traditional Chinese ethical values, which is conducive to the profound transformation of global public health governance concept from "zero-sum game" to "common destiny", and has great and far-reaching significance for strengthening international cooperation in the field of health and improving the level of human health.

On the Formation Logic and World Significance of A Community of Common Health for Mankind / 中国医学伦理学

The concept of a community of common health for mankind profoundly expresses China’s important proposition of promoting the health and well-being of people in various countries and jointly maintaining global public health security, which has a distinct formation logic. The idea of a community of common health for mankind is rooted in the "real community" theory of Marxist, reflecting its value orientation in the field of global health, and highlighting the new era’s inherent requirements of "adhering to the people first". It is an organic unity of theoretical logic, value logic, and practical logic. The construction of a community of common health for mankind gathers broad consensus, highlights the distinct theme of world peace and development, responds to international concerns, and provides Chinese proposals and contributes Chinese strength for governing global public health, practicing multilateralism, and promoting the construction of new international relations.

Research on the Reconstruction of Medical Humanistic Spirit in the Normalization of Epidemic Prevention and Control / 中国医学伦理学

China’s anti-epidemic actions has always adhered to the value of people first and life first, which has profoundly affected the perception of medical humanism by the whole society, especially medical workers. The epidemic prevention and control has put forward new requirements for medical personnel to practice medical humanism, reflecting the unique connotation of the times. In the context of normalized epidemic prevention and control, it is timely to reshape the humanistic spirit of medicine, which has extremely important value of the times. On the basis of explaining the connotation and significance of medical humanism, this paper analyzed the impact and influence of the epidemic on the medical humanism of medical personnel. The value orientation of medical humanism, which is the unity of synergy and innovation, the unity of doctor’s kindness and social responsibility, and the unity of national spirit and human health community, was constructed, and suggestions for reconstructing medical humanism were put forward in terms of improving institutional norms, strengthening education and training, promoting the synergistic development of medical technology and medical humanism, and creating a harmonious humanistic atmosphere.

Research on the Value of "Solidarity" from the Perspective of a Community of Common Health for Mankind / 中国医学伦理学

From the perspective of a community of common health for mankind, solidarity is a relational concept, which is a "social bond" within countries and advocates "cross-border cooperation" among countries. When the COVID-19 calls for global solidarity, it faces obstacles brought by four levels: "individualism", "negative obligation", "national boundary" and "distance". However, based on the interdependence among countries brought about by global health risks and the similarity of everyone’s equal right to health, solidarity can provide unique values of "communitarianism" and "positive obligation" for the effective construction of a community of common health for mankind.