Meryl Nass and Michael Kane
Executive Summary
- There is no scienti c rationale for continuing any COVID-19 mandates in 2023 and beyond.
- Mask and vaccine exemptions must be offered at the discretion of the physician and patient as opposed to one-size-fits-all government edicts.
- Parental rights and decisions must be preserved to ensure the health and well-being of their children.
- The ability of medical professionals to speak freely to their patients and the public must not be compromised.
Informed consent is the basis of medical ethics. Shared decision-making is a model of the patient-physician relationship that is considered the most desirable by both the U.S. and U.K. government health establishments. Patients want to make their own medical decisions, and they have the legal right to do so. They expect their physicians to share knowledge with their patients to inform the best choices.
The corollary to informed consent is that medical decisions ought to be made by individual patients based on their individual situation and personal best interest. ‘One size fits all’ medicine is incongruent with these principles. It denies informed consent and personal autonomy.
