The vaccine "rush" that has been unleashed in recent months is in some ways a unique event in the history of vaccinations, both for the timing of testing and production, much faster than those known so far, and for the existence of a large number of competing vaccines, produced with very different techniques, some traditional, some innovative. The ethical and legal issues on the modalities of experimentation, on the possible compulsoriness of the vaccine and its allocation at national and supranational level, are intertwined with scientific and health issues.

How long does the immunity produced by potential vaccines last? On which sections of the population are they most effective? Will their effect be to prevent contagion or to mitigate the evolution of the disease? These and many other ethical and health questions have been answered, thanks to the participation of academic experts in the field, in the webinar "Bioethics and Covid - The vaccine race: scientific aspects and ethical issues" (Dec. 18th, 2020), which you can now relive on the UPO School of Medicine Youtube channel (click here to watch the full video).

Programme

16.00 – Introduction by UPO Rector Gian Carlo Avanzi and by President of the School of Medicine Marco Krengli
Moderators: Fabrizio Faggiano and Gianluca Aimaretti (UPO)
16.15 – Alberto Mantovani (Humanitas Research Hospital), Immunity and Vaccines against COVID-19, between scientific challenges and ethical dimension
16.45 – Marisa Gariglio (UPO), Vaccine trials
17.00 – Armando Genazzani (UPO), The registration process (FDA, EMA)
17.15 – Massimo Cavino (UPO), The legal issue of possible compulsory vaccination
17.30 – Luca Savarino (UPO), The ethical issue of possible compulsory vaccination
17.45 – Debate
18.00 – Closing

Speakers & moderators:

Gianluca Aimaretti, Dipartimento di Medicina Traslazionale (UPO)
Massimo Cavino, Dipartimento di Studi per l'Economia e l'Impresa (UPO)
Fabrizio Faggiano, Dipartimento di Medicina Traslazionale (UPO)
Marisa Gariglio, Dipartimento di Medicina Traslazionale (UPO)
Armando Genazzani, Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco (UPO)
Alberto Mantovani, Humanitas Research Hospital, Milano
Luca Savarino, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici (UPO), CNB

Scientific/organising committee:
Gianluca Aimaretti - UPO
Fabrizio Faggiano - UPO
Carmela Rinaldi – UPO/AOU Maggiore della Carità
Luca Savarino – UPO