COVID-19 Vaccine: Hopes, Hypes and Fairness

About the talk:

As the global COVID-19 epidemic continues to take a heavy toll on human lives, public health and the economy, hopes are high that the unprecedented pace of new vaccine development may help bring an end to the epidemic.  This talk will be in two parts.  The first part takes a critical look at where the hopes lie, the basis of positive expectation, cautions and yet to be resolved questions on the new COVID-19 vaccine(s).  The second part considers ethical issues as related to new vaccine development and its allocation when available, focusing on fairness and responsibilities.

About the speaker:

Dr. Derrick Au（區結成醫生，筆名區聞海）is the Director of the Centre for Bioethics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Chairman of the Bioethics Course Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, CUHK. He served in medical geriatric and rehabilitation services for two decades before taking up management positions in the Hospital Authority (HA), including Director of Quality and Safety. He is the ex-chairman of the HA Clinical Ethics Committee. Dr. Au is also a writer on health care and humanities and a columnist.