In December 2005, the Center embarked on the first of a series of statewide efforts to address ethical issues in pandemic planning. With its sponsors’ support, the Center convened a pandemic influenza ethics work group that included approximately 35 people who had experience and expertise in health care ethics, public health, infectious disease, health care administration, spirituality and faith, journalism, economics, law, and community service. This group developed an ethical framework for the rationing of scarce vaccines in Minnesota during a severe influenza pandemic. Its recommendations were issued in 2006 and published in Vaccine the following year.

In late 2006 the Minnesota Department of Health issued a request for proposals for developing ethical guidance for statewide rationing of a wider range of health-related resources. The Center and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Bioethics were awarded the contract jointly and in 2007 kicked off the Minnesota Pandemic Ethics Project. We convened a broad-based community panel to recommend ethical frameworks for rationing scarce health0related resources during a severe influenza pandemic. Specificially, the project considered shortages of antivirals for both treatment and prevention, N95 respirators, surgical masks, vaccines, and mechanical ventilators. Several expert workgroups and an implementation protocol committee advised the panel. Together the participants numbered over 100, and their expertise and experience was far-reaching. The panel issued its preliminary recommendations in January 2009.

Community Engagement

To solicit broader input into the recommendations, various subsets of the project team conducted several public engagement activities in 2009:

• Solicitation of written comments to the preliminary report submitted electronically or by mail (under the leadership of the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics and University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics; funded by the Minnesota Department of Health).

• Day-long Community Forums in Duluth and Owatonna held in April and May 2009 (these Forums were under the leadership of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics; funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
• Nine small group discussions (six hours each) held in greater Minnesota and in the Twin Cities metro area. Six groups were led by the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics and three by the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. (These groups were sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Health with funds from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention).

The panel reconvened in August 2009 to consider the public's advice and finalize its recommendations

At the Minnesota Department of Health's request, Center staff analyzed the applicability of the preliminary ethical frameworks to other public health disasters. While some of the project's recommendations are unique to the singular event of a severe pandemic, much of what was learned can inform other disaster planning.

For a list of our reports and publications on pandemic ethics, see our Publications page.