The Vaccine Ethics Project, a joint effort of the Division of Medical Ethics and the Division of Medical Humanities, honors the achievements in public health of its predecessors at NYU—Hermann Biggs and William Hallock Park (diphtheria), Thomas Francis (influenza), Albert Sabin and Jonas Salk (polio), Saul Krugman (hepatitis), Robert Austrian (pneumococcus), and Ruth and Victor Nussenzweig (malaria)—by studying the growth of vaccine hesitancy and developing policies to counter it, and by disseminating information and strategies needed to confront anti-vaccine advocates and developing policies to counter it. Members work to disseminate information and strategies needed to confront anti-vaccine advocates by conducting research on strengthening state vaccination laws; educating parents about vaccines; and studying medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions and mandates for healthcare and day care workers. They research the development of novel vaccines and examine best practices to train healthcare workers and the media in vaccine hesitancy.

Vaccine Ethics Project Members

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD
Nathaniel Mamo, MA
David M. Oshinsky, PhD

Selected Vaccine Ethics Project Publications

Caplan A ... Hotez P. Confronting the evolution and expansion of anti-vaccine activism in the United States in the COVID-19. Lancet. 2023. DOI.

Caplan A. Regaining trust in public health and biomedical science following Covid. Hastings Cent Rep. DOI.

Caplan A, Ferguson K, Williamson A. Ethical challenges of new vaccine delivery technologies. Hastings Cent Rep. 2024. DOI.

Caplan AL. Stigma, vaccination, and moral accountability. Lancet. 2022. DOI.

Constable C … Quinn GP. Clinician communication strategies associated with increased uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine: A systematic review. CA Cancer J Clin. 2022. DOI.

Parent B, Yang YT, and Caplan A. Should patients who refuse COVID vaccination be denied transplantation eligibility? J Card Fail. 2022. DOI.

Carmody ER … Caplan AL. Knowledge and attitudes toward Covid-19 and vaccines among a New York Haredi-Orthodox Jewish community. J Community Health. 2021. DOI.

Dal-Ré R, Orenstein W, and Caplan AL. Trial participants’ rights after authorisation of COVID-19 vaccines. Lancet Respir Med. 2021. DOI.

Ferguson K and Caplan A. Ashamed to Be Vaccinated? The Ethics of Health Care Employees Forgoing Unfair Priority. Hastings Bioethics Forum. 2021.

Ferguson K and Caplan A. Love thy neighbour? Allocating vaccines in a world of competing obligations. J Med Ethics. 2021. DOI.

Friesen P, Caplan AL, and Miller JE. COVID-19 vaccine research and the trouble with clinical equipoise. Lancet. 2021. DOI.

Parent B, Caplan A, and Mehta SA. Ethical considerations regarding COVID-19 vaccination for transplant candidates and recipients. Clin Transplant. 2021. DOI.

Shevzov-Zebrun N and Caplan AL. Priority vaccination for mental illness, developmental or intellectual disability. J Med Ethics. 2021. DOI.

Caplan AL and Abraham JL. Ethical considerations for protecting the options of subjects in primary epidemic vaccine trials. J Med Ethics. 2020. DOI.

Dal-Ré R … Porcher R. Ethical and scientific considerations regarding the early approval and deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine. Ann Intern Med. 2020. DOI.

Ferguson K and Caplan A. Accepting the Challenge: Covid Vaccine Challenge Trials Can Be Ethically Justified. Hastings Bioethics Forum. 2020.

Evrony A and Caplan AL. The overlooked dangers of anti-vaccination groups’ social media presence. Human Vacc Immunother. 2017. DOI.

Cawkwell PB and Oshinsky D. Storytelling in the context of vaccine refusal: A strategy to improve communication and immunisation. Medical Humanit. 2016. DOI.

Schwartz JL and Caplan AL, eds. Vaccination Ethics and Policy: An Introduction with Readings. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2016.

Caplan AL. Morality in a time of Ebola. Lancet. 2015. DOI.

Oshinsky DM. Polio: An American Story. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.