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Sapfo Lignou and Mark Sheehan have authored a new paper, published in Medicine Health Care and Philosophy: Children with medical complexities: their distinct vulnerability in health systems’ Covid-19 response and their claims of justice in the recovery phase.

The paper discusses the lack of consideration given to children with chronic health conditions in the COVID-19 health systems policy response to the pandemic, focusing on the case of children with complex medical needs.

The authors argue that, in broad terms, health systems policies that were implemented during the pandemic failed to meet our obligations to this population group by failing to consider their distinct needs and vulnerabilities and so to give them fair protection against harm and disadvantage.

The paper concludes that justice requires that the distinct needs of children with medical complexities are explicitly integrated and prioritised in decisions concerning healthcare resource allocation and operational planning in the recovery phase and beyond.

Lignou, S., Sheehan, M. Children with medical complexities: their distinct vulnerability in health systems’ Covid-19 response and their claims of justice in the recovery phase. Med Health Care and Philos (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-022-10119-7