Are clinical trials morally justifiable if they withhold treatment from some people?
Today in class, we discussed "equipoise," the idea that the benefits/risks of tests should be grounded in scientific uncertainty rather than any individual's certainty nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
Today in class, we discussed "equipoise," the idea that the benefits/risks of tests should be grounded in scientific uncertainty rather than any individual's certainty nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
In class, we discussed chloroquine, which some people believe should be administered now for covid-19 rather than tested in clinical trials. With HCQ, there's huge equipoise- we don't have enough evidence to know its benefits or side effects
We also discussed the essential role of informed consent. Sometimes people take big risks to advance knowledge. If "human challenge" studies are approved, volunteers would agree to be infected with covid-19 to dramatically speed up the search for a vaccine
nature.com/articles/d4158…
nature.com/articles/d4158…
Equipoise can seem cowardly. A commitment to accurate uncertainty isn't a virtue that people often praise in leaders. But when it comes to health and safety, overconfidence without evidence can do far worse than kill.
Why does equipoise matter? In class, we briefly discussed the Thalomide fiasco, where thousands of infants were born with severe deformities because the maker of a morning sickness drug didn't test its side effects
smithsonianmag.com/science-nature…
smithsonianmag.com/science-nature…
