Posted on

Is Mandatory Vaccination for COVID-19 Constitutional under Brazilian Law?

Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 163-174 PDF Daniel Wei Liang Wang, Gabriela Moribe, and Ana Luiza Gajardoni de M. Arruda Abstract Mandatory vaccination for COVID-19 has been the object of heated debate in Brazil. This article discusses the legality and constitutionality of such a policy. First, it analyzes the laws, regulations, and Supreme Court decisions that provide for the possibility of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination. Subsequently, it analyzes the constitutionality of…

Continue reading “Is Mandatory Vaccination for COVID-19 Constitutional under Brazilian Law?”

Posted on

Supreme Court v. Necropolitics: The Chaotic Judicialization of COVID-19 in Brazil

Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 151-162 PDF João Biehl, Lucas E. A. Prates, and Joseph J. Amon Abstract Worldwide, governments have reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic with emergency orders and policies restricting rights to movement, assembly and education that have impacted daily lives and livelihoods in profound ways. But some leaders, such as President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, have resisted taking such steps, denying the seriousness of the pandemic and…

Continue reading “Supreme Court v. Necropolitics: The Chaotic Judicialization of COVID-19 in Brazil”

Posted on

PERSPECTIVE Should COVID-19 Vaccines Authorized for Emergency Use Be Considered “Essential” Medicines?

Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 145-150 PDF Maxwell J. Smith, Lisa Forman, Michael Parker, Katrina Perehudoff, Belinda Rawson, and Sharifah Sekalala Abstract A critical debate in the race to develop, market, and distribute COVID-19 vaccines could define the future of this pandemic: How much evidence demonstrating a vaccine’s safety and efficacy should be required before it is considered “essential”? If a COVID-19 vaccine were to be designated an essential medicine…

Continue reading “PERSPECTIVE Should COVID-19 Vaccines Authorized for Emergency Use Be Considered “Essential” Medicines?”

Posted on

Reshaping Global Health Law in the Wake of COVID-19 to Uphold Human Rights

Roojin Habibi, Tim Fish Hodgson, Benjamin Mason Meier, Ian Seiderman, and Steven Hoffman The COVID-19 pandemic unequivocally reveals that human rights, the rule of law, democratic institutions and global solidarity are essential to effective public health emergency preparedness and response. Reiterated throughout discussions in the World Health Assembly (WHA) between 24 and 31 May 2021, there is now clear global consensus on the need to strengthen international legal standards to…

Continue reading “Reshaping Global Health Law in the Wake of COVID-19 to Uphold Human Rights”

Posted on

VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Access

Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 273-288 PDF Els Torreele and Joseph J. Amon Introduction The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is an amazing achievement. It shows how much can be accomplished when human ingenuity, solid medical research capacity, and private-sector product development infrastructure are given extensive public support, from basic research to massive subsidies along the research and development (R&D) and manufacturing pipeline. However, this historic accomplishment is hardly a…

Continue reading “VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Access”

Posted on

Fault Lines of Refugee Exclusion: Statelessness, Gender, and COVID-19 in South Asia

Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 237-250 PDF Roshni Chakraborty and Jacqueline Bhabha Abstract Despite widespread recognition of the right to a nationality, statelessness and its attendant vulnerabilities continue to characterize the lives of millions in South Asia. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when states turned inward to protect their own citizens, refugees and de facto stateless persons found themselves excluded from humanitarian services and health care and were…

Continue reading “Fault Lines of Refugee Exclusion: Statelessness, Gender, and COVID-19 in South Asia”

Posted on

Constitutional Rights in South Africa Protect Against Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination

Tanya Calitz Finally, after a long year with the ever-present threat of the COVID-19 virus, there is a glimpse of light at the end of a very dark tunnel, presenting itself as a vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine roll-out plan is well underway in South Africa, albeit with some fits and starts, but most healthcare workers have now received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The question that arises is whether receiving the…

Continue reading “Constitutional Rights in South Africa Protect Against Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination”

Posted on

Drug Company Practices: Is COVID-19 a New Dawn for Human Rights Norms or Business as Usual?

Katrina Perehudoff and Tessa Jolan Jager Drug company decisions about COVID-19 products reveal insights about the changing contours of responsible and rights-based corporate conduct in a health crisis. Those holding the intellectual property (IP) rights to COVID-19 medicines can prevent others from manufacturing, selling, or using their product while it is under protection. In the last two decades drug company strategies ranged from staunchly defending their proprietary rights (for example,…

Continue reading “Drug Company Practices: Is COVID-19 a New Dawn for Human Rights Norms or Business as Usual?”

Posted on

PERSPECTIVE Safe Abortion in Women’s Hands: Autonomy and a Human Rights Approach to COVID-19 and Beyond

Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 191-197 PDF Andrés López Cabello and Ana Cecilia Gaitán Introduction While SARS-CoV-2 containment measures transformed all spheres of social interaction, the COVID-19 pandemic has subjected national health systems to unforeseen strain, leading to their virtual collapse in many countries. The international health crisis has exacerbated social inequalities, with a disproportionate impact on traditionally neglected people; unfortunately, its socioeconomic impacts are likely only to deepen in…

Continue reading “PERSPECTIVE Safe Abortion in Women’s Hands: Autonomy and a Human Rights Approach to COVID-19 and Beyond”

Posted on

Early COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Must Include Incarcerated People

Ira Memaj and Robert Fullilove Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health researchers warned state officials about the pandemic’s impact on vulnerable populations, including those incarcerated. Prisons and jails across the United States have become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an infection rate five times higher than the general population and mortality rates that are three times higher. At the time of writing, 2359 incarcerated people…

Continue reading “Early COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Must Include Incarcerated People”