Samaritans purse volunteers in Liberia. -Yahoo/AFP
After strong debate, all available doses of the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp have been sent to Africa. Yahoo/AFP. The drugs are going to provided at no cost and the victims doctors will have final say on whether or not to use the drugs. So far three patients, two Americans volunteers and a Spanish priest have received the drug. This caused some controversy since the drug was being given to foreign people instead of native Africans.
My Comment:
If you read between the lines, people were upset that it was white people getting this treatment instead of blacks. I can see their point but I can also see the other side of it. People that risked their lives to treat the sick should have first dibs. Of course there is the whole other ethical issue of using experimental drugs this way at all. We have no idea if this treatment works or not, the two Americans are still alive but the Spanish priest died. Was that because of the drug or was it because the Americans were younger and healthier? What if down the line these people become ill because of some unforeseen consequence? And I am sure that some more pragmatic people would argue that the drug should be held in reserve in case the epidemic becomes global. What a mess.
No matter what though, at least the company is trying to help people. I hope that this drug saves some lives. And they should be praised for doing it for free.
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