Jim Thomas

At the intersection of epidemiology, ethics, social forces, and activism. Ask me about pandemic ethics, global health, or digital surveillance.

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

The average life expectancy of Black Americans is lower than for white Americans. A lower age age cutoff for a vaccine could make sense. But then there is the problem of defining Black and white. #ethics #COVID19 #publichealth https://t.co/Ht6ZW12XZi

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

What does an ethical campus response to COVID look like? My colleagues name avoiding groupthink and more. https://t.co/7bCNJDWMFx #ethics #college #COVID19 #COVID

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

In the interest of transparency and ethical processes in the context of COVID, I pose some questions to the Chair of the UNC Board of Trustees. https://t.co/dqrlitwG9q #UNC #COVID19 #Ethics

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

For there to be trust in the decision-making processes at UNC related to COVID, we need to understand the role of the Board of Trustees https://t.co/QYquy4ossv #UNC #Covid_19 #ethics

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

How was it decided that UNC students should come to campus for the Fall semester? The buck stops at the Board of Governors. Who is the BOG? Find out at https://t.co/WQEGcokycw

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Ethics demands that we grow. UNC learned its plans to bring students back to campus were faulty. It now needs to acknowledge and show that it has learned. #UNC #ethics #COVID19 https://t.co/EvfhsbIWIz

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

I will be speaking today on The Ethics of Pandemics for the UNC Humanities in Action series. The talk will be live-cast and then available online later too. https://t.co/lfro78AKBP

#pandemicethics #ethics #covid19

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

UNC Provost Blouin: ‘I don’t apologize for trying.’ Heartfelt apologies end questions and lead to new possibilities. Refusals to apologize raise more questions and make recovery more difficult. https://t.co/OYxAUTsX5r #COVID19 #ethics #universities

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

In this pandemic chaos we look for simple answers like a vaccine or a person to blame. But if we settle for scapegoats, we lose our ability to identify, study, and address the many other important factors. #covid19 #ethics #universities https://t.co/SOneOQhuqz

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

With UNC sending undergraduates back home, it is time to begin evaluating what we got wrong and why. One possibility is that the data informing the campus plan were cherry picked to align with a foregone decision. #covid19 #ethics #university https://t.co/t9qcvPYU8H

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Ethics is about power. When the power to make ethical choices is taken away from us, forms of protest often provide an alternative power. #ethics #covid19 #university https://t.co/qKIzMntQ8J

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Tensions are high as students stream back to campus. Transparency from decision-makers will help us navigate this challenging time. In this Medium post I describe what transparency requires. #ethics #covid19 #university https://t.co/EKtbuMo8gG

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Soidarity is a core value of public health ethics. As students returning to campus are asked to sign on to disease control measures, so too should faculty and staff. https://t.co/7pMECwm8Gn #ethics #publichealth #COVID19

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Saying the virus will go away does not make it so. And telling a community they must wear masks does not mean they will. The ethical exercise of public health powers to enforce disease control measures can make a big difference. #ethics #covid19 https://t.co/Zllv4z8l2Q

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Downstream ethical dilemmas resulting from poor upstream ethical decisions feel less ethical in nature than diabolical. Our options are less clear, we have fewer evidence-based practices to rely on, and every choice wreaks of doom. https://t.co/rFwrLofg12

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Values are often the foundation of our ethics. What are the values driving the university's response to the COVID pandemic and bringing people back to campus? https://t.co/GKXzWp1Pdo #ethics #COVID19 #University

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

When should a campus rethink its call to return to campus? When trust is low, and when the academic gains do not outweigh the risks of coming to together. https://t.co/piZiEuWbIz

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

The public health value of transparency to engender public trust has taken a big hit here. It was hard to imagine another pandemic control misstep available, but it seems one has been found. #pandemicethics #COVIDー19 https://t.co/QZYFj7Z2Uu

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

Any campus that is bringing students back this fall should be systematically gathering information and perspectives — especially from its most vulnerable — to guide its policies. https://t.co/8MQPRcHJ6o #pandemicethics #COVID19 #ReopeningSchools

[Jim Thomas @jcthomasphd]

There is no single answer to whether or how a university should reopen in the fall. In my short essay on Medium, I explain that it is HOW that decision is made that matters. https://t.co/S0E7UPxHAU #COVID19 #ethics #University