Ethics for Lunch: Ethical Issues in the Allocation of the COVID-19 Vaccine

November 17, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic continues and cases are increasing across the United States. In addition to wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, hand-washing, and limiting large gatherings, vaccination will be an important preventive step in the public health strategy against the virus. A safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine can help prevent COVID-19-related illness, hospitalization, and death. Several vaccines are currently under investigation as part of Operation Warp Speed. The hope is that these vaccines may be available for distribution in 2021. However, supplies may be limited in the early phases of distribution, so decisions will need to be made on how to prioritize who gets the vaccine first. Some of these decisions will be made at the federal and state levels, and then some will be made at the institutional and local level. The ethical choices that go into these allocation decisions should be evaluated, especially in light of the politicization of some aspects of the pandemic response. People have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Trust in the process will be important factor in whether the public is willing to receive a vaccine.


Objectives:

Discuss the main ethical principles for allocation and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Review the science behind COVID-19 vaccine development.
Discuss the recommendations for vaccine allocation and distribution made by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.