Week 1: Murals Across The Globe Attempt To Shine Light During The Pandemic

In Chapter 14 of the Honors Book, Sarah Wenner analyzes the ethics surrounding pharmaceutical testing in animals. The message is a powerful one, evoking the horrors of cruel procedures that torture and kill animals in laboratories across the world. Various organizations and affiliates attempt to combat the use of animals in highly experimental and unsubstantiated medical trials, but these groups have covered little ground in their fight. The art of Marina Abramovich shows the effects of such barbarism on the human body, and the result is devastating. Though the element of cruelty inherent to such testing is real, it must be contextualized. An important part of animal testing is to determine whether pharmaceuticals or vaccines could be hazardous to humans. This research is overwhelmingly valuable in making these determinations and preparing drugs for clinical use. It would be significantly more dangerous to begin trials of experimental medicines directly on human beings. However, the lines become blurred in times of extraordinary circumstance. At this time, it is becoming inevitable for the standards of ethics to be tested. Even the social distancing we are all being forced to accept is affecting some far more than others, and it is often the invisible groups of society who put in the most difficult positions. While we work at home, the garbage truck operators and custodians remain working harder than ever in dangerous conditions. While we become frustrated with cabin fever, others are fighting for their lives even if they are not sick. Nevertheless, graffiti artists across the world are using their art to paint murals in hard hit cities to remind everyone that they are not alone. One such example is that shown below, from the city of Los Angeles (Jefferey).

GP: Coronavirus Murals: Los AngelsApu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images.

Now that we collectively face the clear threat of an ongoing pandemic, difficult ethical decisions must be made. The United States Food and Drug Administration recently granted medical devices company Abbott the clearance to release a new assay for detecting positive coronavirus cases. The invoked Emergency Use Authorization allows a product that would generally take months to approve to go on the market immediately without further testing (Abbott). The risks are self-evident, as poorly manufactured products could be harmful to the human guinea pigs who use them first. While a simple test may be more likely harmless than not, a vaccine is not. Unfortunately, developing a vaccine for the SARS CoV-2 on an extremely expedited timeline will require equally extreme measures to undertake. Without the normal regulatory guidelines in place, vaccine trials will astonishingly begin with volunteers who must agree to a vast breadth of unknown risks (Park). It is at this juncture that public policy fails and inequity reigns control.

People will be treated just like the mice in the pharmaceutical testing industry, and it appears increasingly likely that a disproportionate percentage of minorities and underprivileged groups will be subject to the treatment first. Lower socioeconomic classes are far more likely to agree to the terms and conditions of experimental treatments simply because they are unable to afford or gain access to better medical care (Kendi). Incentives to volunteer for the trials will yield far greater appeal to those in communities without access to enough resources to survive the pandemic. In countries such as Senegal, lower literacy and education greatly contribute to the struggle and inevitability of the disease. It is in these places that muralists like Alpha Sy are being commissioned to portrait educational images across the city in an attempt to inform that populous about ways to stay safe during an uncertain time (Senegal). Some are portrayed in the paintings detailed below.

In a country with a low literacy rate, art can help spread important information about how to stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak. (Alpha Sy)

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Senegalese graffiti collective RBS has created murals across Dakar to encourage residents to practice good hygiene. Senegalese graffiti collective RBS in Dakar.

Though the idea is positive, reality does not quite align with the message. Simple things like cleaning supplies and clean water are not available in many countries. There is already reason to believe that African American and Latino males will be hardest hit by the virus. These are already the groups facing the steepest uphill battle for medical care. They are far more likely to be without insurance, and they are just as likely to live in neighborhoods with substandard healthcare infrastructure. As the crisis mounts globally, more and more pressure will be applied to people in the most precarious positions to take the leap of faith and dry run the potential vaccines that will then be released to everyone else worldwide. It is this reality that should be most concerning. What is the most ethical and equitable way to test the vaccines that the world so desperately needs? Evidence suggests that if the choice is left up to volunteers, it is the poorest among us that will suffer the worst of the effects. For now, it seems only that those with the resources can protect themselves while the rest struggle alone. If anything, this is the time to coalesce as humanity and at least get supplies to all who need it, not just those visible to us now. It is the invisible among humanity who hurt the most, and this crisis gives us an opportunity to let them see light.

This image created by graffiti collective RBS highlights the need to wear face masks as the coronavirus continues to spread. (Alpha Sy)RBS collective encouragement to wear masks.

References

“Abbott Real Time SARS-CoV-2 Assay.” Abbott Real Time SARS-CoV-2 Assay (EUA) | Abbott Molecular, www.molecular.abbott/us/en/products/infectious-disease/RealTime-SARS-CoV-2-Assay.

Park, Alice. “Coronavirus Drug and Vaccine Studies Recruit First Patients.” Time, Time, 10 Mar. 2020, time.com/5799718/coronavirus-vaccine-antiviral-studies/.

Kendi, Ibram X. “Why Don't We Know Who the Coronavirus Victims Are?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1 Apr. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/stop-looking-away-race-covid-19-victims/609250/.

Ajefferyphoto. “Coronavirus-Themed Murals from around the World.” CNBC, CNBC, 6 Apr. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/coronavirus-themed-murals-from-around-the-world.html.

“Senegal's Graffiti Artists Offer COVID-19 Information Via Murals.” Voice of America, www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/senegals-graffiti-artists-offer-covid-19-information-murals.