Allocation criteria for an initial shortage of a future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and necessary measures for global immunity

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 38; no. 34; pp. 5396 - 5397
• Main Author: Henn, Wolfram
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 22-07-2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Betacoronavirus; China; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Ethics; Health policy; Herd immunity; Humans; Immunity; Inpatients; Medical ethics; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; SARS Virus - immunology; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 vaccine; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Shortages; Transplants & implants; Vaccination; Vaccines; Viral Vaccines; China; Ethics; SARS-CoV-2 vaccine; Health policy
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.058

Any shortage of vital goods bears severe ethical challenges, as it generates distribution conflicts that can amount to antisocial behavior at the individual as well as at the governmental level, such as bribery, black markets, or protectionist trading practices. [...]the following preference list might be reasonable: Any person left behind for whatever reason will not only be in avoidable peril, but will also put the goal of eradication of SARS-Cov-2 at risk [13]. [...]the EU and other well-heeled supranational organisations should feel not only morally obliged but also pragmatically well-advised to participate in supplying weaker healthcare systems with sufficient amounts of vaccine and logistic support for their application even in remote areas [14].Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.