Editor’s Note

G. Sirju-Charran Editor

I urge you to read these articles and more importantly to click on

the link

provided to share your views with all members so that not only do we begin a conversation with the authors and among ourselves, but we would all gain further insights on these issues.

In spite of the challenges presented by COVID-19 during the year the mid-year Newsletter was successfully published in June .However the December issue was delayed due to late submissions despite reminders of the deadline, and will now be issued at the end of February. This may have been to COVID_19 fatigue or time-off to celebrate during the Holiday Season. Or it may have been that the date for submission of articles coincided with the date of the highly successful Webinar which was held at the end of November (See President’s message).

Nevertheless, four insightful articles were received. Susan Andrews’ piece compares the coverage of healthcare costs from the ideologies of Libertarians and Libertarian-Egalitarians with reference to Trinidad and Tobago, The United States of America, Norway and Cuba. Derrick Aarons explores the construct of “Ethics Consideration” and identifies a number of ethical guiding principles that can be applied in managing a pandemic. Sherry Ephraim in her extensive discussion of ethical issues in the care of COVID-19 patients concludes with a recommendation for the “Jonsen’s four-approach framework as an objective and structured training tool to help health professionals navigate their way in ethical deliberations”. Shereen Cox undertakes an expansive review of the ethical ambivalence presented in the use of placebos in standard therapy clinical trials, using the AZT trials conducted in countries belonging to the Lower- and Middle-Class Income. You are urged to post your thoughts and comments on these papers using the link provided, so that we can have robust discussions on the ideas presented in each. Also included in this issue is a compilation of several excellent reviews of Derrick Aarons book entitled: “Vital Communications in Medicine.” This publication is reasonably priced and is very timely given the significance the pandemic revealed, of the need for accurate and timely communication. Derrick has also submitted a Report on the Bioethics Network for Latin America and the Caribbean (Redbioetica UNESCO) which was founded in 2003 and to which Dr. Aarons has been making a valuable contribution since 2009. Of particular note is the further strengthening of ties with BSEC through the election by 100% of the vote in Nov. 2021, of President Shereen Cox to serve on the Executive Council of RedBioetica.

The programme coordinator of CREEi, Kareem Coomansingh has submitted an article containing information on the programme and inviting application for entry into the 3rd cohort, due on February 23rd, 2022. Accomplishments of BSEC Members is a recurring feature in the newsletter and although this is included in the call for papers, only one member made an appropriate submission. Happy Reading everyone and let this New Year resolution be: To contribute individually and collectively, to make 2022 a much better year than the past two years.