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February, 2008 News Release
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has extended its contract with the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics (MCHCE) and the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics on the "Development of an Ethical Framework for Influenza Pandemic" project. Both Centers were contracted by MDH to assist with preparing to address critical ethical issues that are likely to arise during a severe influenza pandemic and to produce a set of ethical procedures for allocating medications, vaccines, protective equipment, and other health care and medical items that may be in short supply in a pandemic.
Five work groups and a protocol committee, in addition to the Resource Allocation Panel, have been meeting monthly as part of this project. It has become clear throughout the process that the framework cannot be fully developed without input from a broader segment of the population. This extension of the project will insert a public engagement component that will occur between the preliminary recommendations from the Resource Allocation Panel and the final recommendations. The final framework will include the Panel’s analysis of the community engagement findings and any necessary changes to the preliminary recommendations and final recommendations.
View the Development of an Ethical Framework for Influenza Pandemic Research Page.