In “Allocating Scare Resources in a Pandemic,” Martin Strosberg calls attention to the need for preparedness planning including methods for rationing vaccines, antiviral medications, and intensive care unit beds and staff.
Many public health officials are calling for mandatory vaccination against smallpox for all emergency medical workers, but the possibility of adverse reactions to the vaccine raises questions of compensation for those injured.
Refusals of psychotropic medication by detained criminal defendants raise conflicting dual loyalties for psychiatrists between the duty to treat a patient and the duty to protect society from that patient.