Band 13, Heft 1

The COVID-19 Pandemic created a need for a vaccine that would need to be rapidly created, tested and approved in order to reduce the pandemic’s tremendous impact on human life and the economy. This article discusses the vaccine development process as well as Operation Warp Speed, the United States plan for emergency vaccine development in a pandemic situation. Written before the approval of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines, this article also discusses the implications of a speedier vaccine development process as well as recommendations to the standard process.

This article analyzes various legal defenses and immunities against patent infringement liability during COVID-19 under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (“PREPA” or “Act”). Although initially enacted in response to the 2001 Anthrax attacks, PREPA was once again invoked in response to COVID-19 under the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the “Secretary”). Through declarations issued by the Secretary, the scope of the original Act inferably expanded in a pursuit to mitigate the public health emergency of COVID-19. The nature of this review primarily focuses on the uncertainties surrounding the extent and practical legal applications of this expansion.

COVID-19 is becoming an increasing concern since its emergence in late 2019. Texas in particular has seen an increasing number of cases along with overloaded hospitals. Texas has not dealt with a pandemic as severe as this for decades and the government is quickly implementing procedures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. These COVID-19 procedures are spiking concern in many individuals, causing them to question the constitutionality of these ordinances and if the government is infringing on their rights. In this paper we will analyze these procedures and how they originated. We will explore the different roles of federal, state and local governments in public health law and the extent of their authority during a public health crisis. This analysis will provide the answers and show you why the government is likely not infringing on your constitutional rights.

Amid public health crises, contact tracing becomes an imperative mechanism in combatting the threat at hand. In today’s day and age, technology has exploded, leaving the legal world to determine technologies’ effect on the law. As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc upon the world, how is contact tracing affected by the advent of modern technology, and how does the use of technology such as geolocation, artificial intelligence (AI), and facial recognition technology (FRT) comport with the rights to privacy, association, free exercise of religion, and equal protection? This paper will examine the current constitutional precedents to provide insight as to how the use of digital contact tracing would influence the rights of everyday citizens. Constitutional implications of digital contact tracing using geolocation, AI, and FRT are considered against the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments (more specifically, against freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to privacy, and the right to equal protection). Given the novel aspects of geolocation, AI, and FRT, digital contact tracing could result in potential constitutional violations under certain circumstances. This research shows that while digital contact tracing using novel technology could be done in a legal way, there are just as many concerns to be had about potential constitutional abuses that could affect each and everyone’s lives.