Seattle Children's Hospital to host conference on pediatric vaccine ethics

The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatrics Bioethics at Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in Seattle is hosting a conference July 14-15 titled "Current Controversies: Ethical Issues Related to Vaccination of Children".

The conference aims to address the following, among other topics:

• Do "wealthy" nations have an ethical obligation to develop vaccines for diseases that occur primarily in developing nations and to fund vaccination programs for children of impoverished nations?
• Is it appropriate to do human vaccine testing in developing nations and, if so, under what conditions?
• How should priorities be set regarding the development of new vaccines?
• How should vaccines be distributed in a shortage situation?
• Should vaccination programs be government funded or market based?
• Should parents be able to refuse vaccinations for their children?
• How should health care providers respond to parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their children?
• When does the community interest in public health justify restricting the freedom to choose regarding vaccination?
• Are school mandates too restrictive, too weak or appropriately written?

Quite a broad spectrum of questions to tackle in two days, but it looks to be an excellent program.