A new, interim report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released this week showcases a path to ethical allocation and distribution of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, meant to help facilitate those early days after it is first authorized for use.
The Interim Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution in the United States forms people into priority tiers for consideration during days of limited supply. In the first tier, at top priority, are essential workers and those at greatest risk of illness and death, along with their caretakers.
After those people are taken care of, tier two would consist of those involved in broader health provision, those who would face difficulties accessing care in the event of serious illness, those helping maintain core societal functions, and those whose living or working conditions put them at greater risk of infection.
The division of priority in vaccine distribution was based around the moral ideas of promoting public health in tandem with enabling social and economic activity. It also put fairness and social equity front and center for treatment consideration, considering factors like racial and ethnic disparities in the COVID-19 mortality rate as well as the necessity and contributions of essential workers. For the writers, the hope was that such a framework could promote trust in vaccination efforts and make people feel invested in vaccine policy.