Going first: the ethics of vaccine self-experimentation in coronavirus times

Tania Manríquez Roa; Nikola Biller-Andorno

doi:10.4414/smw.2020.20415

Viewpoint

Vol. 150 No. 4748 (2020)

Going first: the ethics of vaccine self-experimentation in coronavirus times

Tania Manríquez Roa
Nikola Biller-Andorno

Cite this as:: Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20415
Published: 26.11.2020

References

Hanley BP, Bains W, Church G. Review of Scientific Self-Experimentation: Ethics History, Regulation, Scenarios, and Views Among Ethics Committees and Prominent Scientists. Rejuvenation Res. 2019;22(1):31–42. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1089/rej.2018.2059
Altman LW. Who Goes First? The Story of Self-experimentation in Medicine. Reprint. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1998.
Guerrini CJ, Sherkow JS, Meyer MN, Zettler PJ. Self-experimentation, ethics, and regulation of vaccines. Science. 2020;369(6511):1570–2. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe1963
radvac.org. [Internet]. Boston: Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative; c2020 [cited 2020 Sept 29]. Available from: www.radvac.org.
Regalado A. Some scientists are taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine, and nobody knows if it’s legal or if it works [Internet]. MIT Technology Review. 2020 July 29. [cited 2020 Sept 1]. Available from: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/29/1005720/george-church-diy-coronavirus-vaccine/
Murphy H. These Scientists Are Giving Themselves D.I.Y. Coronavirus Vaccines [Internet]. New York Times. 2020 Sept.1, updated 2020 Sept.8. [cited 2020 Sept 29]. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/science/covid-19-vaccine-diy.html%20
Davis JK. Self-experimentation. Account Res. 2003;10(3):175–87. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1080/714906095
Dresser R. Personal knowledge and study participation. J Med Ethics. 2014;40(7):471–4. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2013-101390
who.int. [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; c2019 [cited 2020 Sept 29]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019.

How to Cite

1.

Going first: the ethics of vaccine self-experimentation in coronavirus times. Swiss Med Wkly [Internet]. 2020 Nov. 26 [cited 2025 Oct. 28];150(4748):w20415. Available from: https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/2898

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DOI:: https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2020.20415

[1] Hanley BP, Bains W, Church G. Review of Scientific Self-Experimentation: Ethics History, Regulation, Scenarios, and Views Among Ethics Committees and Prominent Scientists. Rejuvenation Res. 2019;22(1):31–42. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1089/rej.2018.2059

[2] Altman LW. Who Goes First? The Story of Self-experimentation in Medicine. Reprint. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1998.

[3] Guerrini CJ, Sherkow JS, Meyer MN, Zettler PJ. Self-experimentation, ethics, and regulation of vaccines. Science. 2020;369(6511):1570–2. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe1963

[4] radvac.org. [Internet]. Boston: Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative; c2020 [cited 2020 Sept 29]. Available from: www.radvac.org.

[5] Regalado A. Some scientists are taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine, and nobody knows if it’s legal or if it works [Internet]. MIT Technology Review. 2020 July 29. [cited 2020 Sept 1]. Available from: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/29/1005720/george-church-diy-coronavirus-vaccine/

[6] Murphy H. These Scientists Are Giving Themselves D.I.Y. Coronavirus Vaccines [Internet]. New York Times. 2020 Sept.1, updated 2020 Sept.8. [cited 2020 Sept 29]. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/science/covid-19-vaccine-diy.html%20

[7] Davis JK. Self-experimentation. Account Res. 2003;10(3):175–87. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1080/714906095

[8] Dresser R. Personal knowledge and study participation. J Med Ethics. 2014;40(7):471–4. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2013-101390

[9] who.int. [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; c2019 [cited 2020 Sept 29]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019.