BIOBANKS. ASSOCIATED RISKS AND BENEFITS

Biobanks are repositories of human organic material, that have an important role in the clinic. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Health Ethics Unit have a great contribution considering the ideology of a well-functioning biobank. At the European Union, the functioning of biobanks is strictly regulated and research is being sustained by programs financed at a community level. The administration of biobanks brings both advantages and risks socially. To prevent these, international standards have been implemented for biobanks. In the research domain but also in the public health domain, an analysis in accordance with the legal framework must be considered in order to preserve the well-functioning of biobanks.

Ethical limits to placebo use and access to Covid-19 vaccines as a human right

The world is currently facing another severe pandemic, Covid-19, just four decades after the start of AIDS, and the still increasing incidence of HIV infection continues to be one of the greatest global health challenges. The way the latter was confronted is of fundamental importance for a serious discussion on global health, ethics and human rights, and this experience could and can still be applied to Covid-19. The Covid-19 pandemic has specific characteristics and these will be discussed, in relation to vaccine research and especially to the global right to equal access to products proven to be safe and effective. The article focusses primarily on issues related to Covid-19 vaccines, especially the appropriate use and limits on placebo, the right to post-trial access to placebo arm participants, and the use of an active control for subsequent Phase-3 trials after the approval of other safe and efficacious vaccines. Most importantly, it will emphasise that access to Covid-19 vaccines is a human right, which presupposes the establishment of appropriate ethical standards to ensure universal, equal, and affordable access to healthcare and to vaccines for all, and the imperative need for suspension of patents for products developed for Covid-19. It will consider the role of social determinants that contribute to the severity of Covid-19 and that must be addressed to effectively curb the current syndemic.