Denver Newsroom, Apr 28, 2022 / 17:24 pm
As Moderna asks the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its coronavirus vaccine for children under 6, the National Catholic Bioethics Center on Thursday updated its guidance on COVID-19 vaccine mandates to include children and vulnerable persons.
“The NCBC wishes to highlight the higher threshold of therapeutic benefit that must be applied to medical decisions for any persons at greater risk of exploitation, such as children,” the NCBC, a bioethics think tank, said in an April 28 statement announcing the update.
“We emphasize the importance of respecting the rightful role of parents or legal representatives in making medical decisions for minors or others incapable of giving their own consent. These decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis with careful weight given to all ethically relevant factors including the potential burdens and benefits,” the center said.
“The updated NCBC statement also recalls the higher ethical standards required in medical research, including the need for appreciable direct benefits to research participants themselves as distinct from benefits accruing solely to other people. Research data strongly suggests that children are the demographic group at lowest risk of harm from COVID-19. Parents and society have a particular duty to protect vulnerable children and others who cannot make their own medical decisions.”