Law Commons^™

Mandating Covid-19 Vaccines, Lawrence O. Gostin, Daniel A. Salmon, Heidi J. Larson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines hold promise to control the pandemic, and help restore normal social and economic life. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for 2 mRNA vaccines and will likely issue full biologics licenses in the coming months. Anticipating vaccine scarcity, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) published guidance on vaccine priorities.

Data show 95% efficacy for vaccines granted an EUA, but even highly effective vaccines cannot curb the pandemic without high population coverage and maintenance of other mitigation strategies. Recent data from 1,676 adults surveyed November 30-December …

The Great Coronavirus Pandemic Of 2020—7 Critical Lessons, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The world is experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, causing untold human suffering and death, unraveling of social relationships, and robbing individuals of livelihoods and countries of prosperity. The coronavirus pandemic has strained health systems, revealed unconscionable inequalities, and upended international institutions. Here are 7 critical lessons.

The Value Proposition Of The Global Health Security Index, Sanjana J. Ravi, Kelsey Lane Warmbrod, Lucia Mullen, Diane Meyer, Elizabeth Cameron, Jessica Bell, Priya Bapat, Michael Paterra, Catherine Machalaba, Indira Nath, Lawrence O. Gostin, Wilmot James, Dylan George, Simo Nikkari, Ernesto Gozzer, Oyewale Tomori, Issa Makumbi, Jennifer B. Nuzzo

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Infectious disease outbreaks pose major threats to human health and security. Countries with robust capacities for preventing, detecting and responding to outbreaks can avert many of the social, political, economic and health system costs of such crises. The Global Health Security Index (GHS Index)—the first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries—recently found that no country is sufficiently prepared for epidemics or pandemics. The GHS Index can help health security stakeholders identify areas of weakness, as well as opportunities to collaborate across sectors, collectively strengthen health systems and achieve shared public health goals. Some …

An Analysis Of International Health Regulations Emergency Committees And Public Health Emergency Of International Concern Designations, Lucia Mullen, Christina Potter, Lawrence O. Gostin, Anita Cicero, Jennifer B. Nuzzo

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Nine public health events have been assessed for the potential declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR), a PHEIC is defined as an extraordinary event that constitutes a public health risk to other states through international spread and requires a coordinated international response. The WHO Director-General convenes Emergency Committees (ECs) to provide their advice on whether an event constitutes a PHEIC. The EC rationales have been continuously criticised for being non-transparent and contradictory to the IHR. This first comprehensive analysis of EC rationale provides recommendations to …

Imagining Global Health With Justice: Transformative Ideas For Health And Wellbeing While Leaving No One Behind, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color in the United States and immense vulnerabilities in lower-income countries has revealed a global health reality that is often overshadowed by decades of progress in overall global health, with new lows in child and maternal deaths every year, more people with HIV receiving access to lifesaving anti-retroviral therapy, and rising life expectancies. That reality is one of vast national and global inequalities, with the lived experiences of members of marginalized populations far removed from laudatory health headlines.

Here, we propose an ambitious agenda to bridge the gap between progress in global …

The Legal Determinants Of Health: How Can We Achieve Universal Health Coverage And What Does It Mean?, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

How can we keep people – wherever they live – healthy and safe? Among all global health initiatives, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has garnered most political attention. But can UHC (as important as it is) actually achieve the two fundamental aspirations of the right to health: keeping people healthy and safe, while leaving no one behind? There is a universal longing for health and security, but also a deep-seated belief in fairness and equity. Can UHC achieve both health and equity, or what I have called, “global health with justice.”?

What makes a population healthy and safe? Certainly, universal and …

Regulating Medicines In A Globalized World With Increased Recognition And Reliance Among Regulators: A National Academies Report, Lawrence O. Gostin, Alastair J. Wood, Patricia A. Cuff

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Research and development of pharmaceuticals are now complex global endeavors, with drug companies operating worldwide using global supply chains. Pharmaceutical companies source their products from many countries, conduct trials in multiple sites, and market essential drugs and vaccines globally. Yet oversight of drug safety and effectiveness is primarily the responsibility of national regulators of variable capacities. National agencies often undertake product reviews without recognizing that similar reviews are occurring elsewhere, sometimes simultaneously. The result is duplication and redundancy, which benefits neither national nor global public health. Supported by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Academies of Sciences, …

The World Health Organization In Global Health Law, Benjamin Mason Meier, Allyn Taylor, Mark Eccleston-Turner, Roojin Habibi, Sharifah Sekalala, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sought to bring the world together to respond to a shared threat. This column seeks to examine the central importance of WHO in developing and implementing global health law. Recognizing that global health law requires global governance, the column begins by situating WHO’s role at the forefront of global health governance. WHO’s leadership in global governance for health is supported by an expansive mandate to serve as a forum for the codification of international law, which WHO has exercised sporadically through the evolving development of the International Health Regulations (IHR). Yet, where the IHR …