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COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough

This critical essay evaluates the potential integration of distinct kinds of expertise in policymaking, especially during situations of critical emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article relies on two case studies: (i) herd immunity (UK) and (ii) restricted access to ventilators for d...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Pietrini, Pietro, Lavazza, Andrea, Farina, Mirko
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Nature Singapore 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8762630/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35038085
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11673-021-10157-5
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author Pietrini, Pietro
Lavazza, Andrea
Farina, Mirko
author_facet Pietrini, Pietro
Lavazza, Andrea
Farina, Mirko
author_sort Pietrini, Pietro
collection PubMed
description This critical essay evaluates the potential integration of distinct kinds of expertise in policymaking, especially during situations of critical emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article relies on two case studies: (i) herd immunity (UK) and (ii) restricted access to ventilators for disabled people (USA). These case studies are discussed as examples of experts’ recommendations that have not been widely accepted, though they were made within the boundaries of expert epistemic authority. While the fundamental contribution of biomedical experts in devising public health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic is fully recognized, this paper intends to discuss potential issues and limitations that may arise when adopting a strict expert-based approach. By drawing attention to the interests of minorities (disenfranchized and underrepresented groups), the paper also claims a broader notion of “relevant expertise.” This critical essay thus calls for the necessity of wider inclusiveness and representativeness in the process underlying public health policymaking.
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spelling pubmed-87626302022-01-18 COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough Pietrini, Pietro Lavazza, Andrea Farina, Mirko J Bioeth Inq Critical Perspectives This critical essay evaluates the potential integration of distinct kinds of expertise in policymaking, especially during situations of critical emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article relies on two case studies: (i) herd immunity (UK) and (ii) restricted access to ventilators for disabled people (USA). These case studies are discussed as examples of experts’ recommendations that have not been widely accepted, though they were made within the boundaries of expert epistemic authority. While the fundamental contribution of biomedical experts in devising public health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic is fully recognized, this paper intends to discuss potential issues and limitations that may arise when adopting a strict expert-based approach. By drawing attention to the interests of minorities (disenfranchized and underrepresented groups), the paper also claims a broader notion of “relevant expertise.” This critical essay thus calls for the necessity of wider inclusiveness and representativeness in the process underlying public health policymaking. Springer Nature Singapore 2022-01-17 2022 /pmc/articles/PMC8762630/ /pubmed/35038085 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11673-021-10157-5 Text en © The Author(s) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Critical Perspectives
Pietrini, Pietro
Lavazza, Andrea
Farina, Mirko
COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough
title COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough
title_full COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough
title_fullStr COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough
title_short COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough
title_sort covid-19 and biomedical experts: when epistemic authority is (probably) not enough
topic Critical Perspectives
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8762630/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35038085
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11673-021-10157-5
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