Research Ethics and Integrity During Pandemics: Not Unique, but Vastly Magnified Challenges

Abstract

This chapter sets the scene for the development of the PREPARED Code: A Global Code of Conduct for Research During Pandemics. Recalling the time when successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the deaths of millions and put health systems under enormous pressure, we explain how the pandemic created a demand for rapidly available, trusted scientific advice. Fast reaction systems, including accelerated research, faced significant ethics and integrity challenges. While most such challenges encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic were not unique, researchers and research ethics committees were ill-equipped to cope with their extent and scale. This chapter explains the purpose of the PREPARED Code against that backdrop, including what sets this code apart from many other research ethics codes.