Many decisions about treating and controlling viral diseases raise ethical questions: questions about what is right, not just what works. Edexcel uses four ethical frameworks to discuss these:• Rights and duties: some actions are right or wrong in themselves, e.g. a duty never to harm a patient.
• Maximising benefits and minimising harm (utilitarianism): the right choice is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number.
• Respect for autonomy: people have the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies.
• Justice (fairness): benefits and burdens should be shared fairly.Examples of ethical issues:Clinical trials. Volunteers must give informed consent, knowing the risks. Giving a placebo to seriously ill patients withholds a possibly effective treatment; many trials now compare a new drug with the best existing one instead. Testing drugs in low-income countries raises questions of fairness if people there cannot afford the final product.Animal testing. Animals cannot consent. The 3Rs (replace, reduce, refine) aim to limit harm.Vaccination. Compulsory vaccination could reach herd immunity (maximising benefit) but overrides personal autonomy.Disease control. Quarantine and travel restrictions protect the public but limit individual freedom.Access. When drugs or vaccines are scarce or expensive, who should get them first? Patents reward research but can make antiviral drugs too costly for poorer countries.There is usually no single correct answer. A good response names the framework being used and weighs benefits against harms for the different people involved.
• Maximising benefits and minimising harm (utilitarianism): the right choice is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number.
• Respect for autonomy: people have the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies.
• Justice (fairness): benefits and burdens should be shared fairly.Examples of ethical issues:Clinical trials. Volunteers must give informed consent, knowing the risks. Giving a placebo to seriously ill patients withholds a possibly effective treatment; many trials now compare a new drug with the best existing one instead. Testing drugs in low-income countries raises questions of fairness if people there cannot afford the final product.Animal testing. Animals cannot consent. The 3Rs (replace, reduce, refine) aim to limit harm.Vaccination. Compulsory vaccination could reach herd immunity (maximising benefit) but overrides personal autonomy.Disease control. Quarantine and travel restrictions protect the public but limit individual freedom.Access. When drugs or vaccines are scarce or expensive, who should get them first? Patents reward research but can make antiviral drugs too costly for poorer countries.There is usually no single correct answer. A good response names the framework being used and weighs benefits against harms for the different people involved.