Registration Link: [For HKU members] / [For non-HKU members]
Symposium on “Bioethics in a Post-Covid World” [Free of Charge]
Covid-19 has potentially changed the world as we know it. As the World Health Organization desperately urges countries to consider and address the health impacts of long-Covid, some countries are still struggling to mitigate the pandemic and/or suffering the economical and psychological effects of the responses to the virus. This symposium aims to consider the potential bioethical implications, dilemmas, and role in a post-Covid world. It will examine, for example, the role of international and national health organizations during Covid and future pandemics. It will also discuss how practices of solidarity played a part in individual and institutional responses to Covid and how they should play a role in future pandemics. The symposium will ultimately seek to understand how the world reacted to Covid, and how we might do better next time.
The symposium will be conducted in a hybrid form, including face-to-face and by Zoom. It will be open to staff members, medical students at HKU, and the wider public. The event will be free of charge and prior registration is required.
Date: May 18, 2023 (Thursday)
Time: 9:00 am – 5:45 pm
Venue: Room A6-09, 6/F, William M. W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road
The symposium will consist of 4 sessions. The first session will explore the tension between moral and personal autonomy and the public good during pandemics, critically examining vaccine hesitance and national and international responses to the virus, such as lockdowns and cellular surveillance. The second session will examine justice and global determinants of health, focusing on adverse mental health effects due to public health responses, e.g. loneliness and social isolation. The third session will focus on justice solidarity, and vulnerable population critically examining the potential for zoonoses, gender-based inequalities and global solidarity. The fourth session will summarize lessons learned and offer recommendations for the future, a future in a post-Covid world.
The three sessions will last for 2 hours. There will be three speakers in each session who will talk for 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for the Q&A session. The last 30 minutes will be devoted to a general discussion.
Programme:
| Time | Event |
| 8:30 – 9:00am | Registration |
| 9:00 – 10:00am | Keynote Speech Topic: How should we think of ethics and policy in a post-Covid world?
|
| 10:00am – 12:00pm | Session 1 – Liberty versus Autonomy
Trustworthiness in Social Listening as Infodemic Management
Is There a Duty of Care Towards the Unvaccinated?
The Pandemic Fatigue and Preferences for COVID-19 Public Health and Social Measures
|
| 12:00 – 1:00pm | Lunch Break |
| 1:00 – 3:00pm | Session 2 – Justice and Social Determinants of Health
Covid-19-related Health Inequalities in Hong Kong
Loneliness in Pandemic Preparedness Plans
Does Withholding Abortion Services Harm Public Health?
|
| 3:00 – 3:15pm | Coffee Break |
| 3:15 – 5:15pm | Session 3 – Justice, Solidarity and Vulnerable Populations
Global Solidarity during Covid-19 and Beyond
Gender Disparities during Covid
Prevention and control of animal infectious diseases in underserved areas
|
| 5:15 – 5:45pm | Session 4 – Round Table: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Participants:
|
International Speakers:
Professor Angus Dawson (Keynote speaker)
Professor of Bioethics at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Dr Anita Ho
Clinical Associate Professor, Centre for Applied Ethics, University of British Columbia
Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco Bioethics
Senior Director of Ethics (Northern California), Providence St. Joseph Health
Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS)
Elected Fellow, The Hastings Center
Dr Karel Caals
Research Fellow at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Local Speakers:
Dr Calvin Ho
Associate Professor, Department of Law, The University of Hong Kong
Director, Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, The University of Hong Kong
Dr Zohar Lederman
Post-doctoral Fellow, Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, The University of Hong Kong
Research Fellow, Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, The University of Hong Kong
Dr Ming Wai Kit
Assistant Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, City University of Hong Kong
Dr Roger Chung
Associate Professor, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Co-Director, CUHK Centre for Bioethics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Associate Director, CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Dr Olivia Ngan
Research Assistant Professor, Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, The University of Hong Kong
Research Fellow, Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, The University of Hong Kong
Dr Karen A. Grépin
Associate Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
Dr Anne Conan
Research Associate Professor, Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, City University of Hong Kong
Discussant:
Professor Vivian Lin
Executive Associate Dean, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Professor of Practice (Public Health), LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
Event Poster: Please click here.
Enquiry: Please contact Edison Cheng at mehu@hku.hk.
Organiser: HKU Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, HKUMed
Supported by: Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, HKU
