The Elderly vs. Essential Workers: Who Should Get the Coronavirus Vaccine First?

[StudentMI]

Harald Schmidt, an expert in ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said that it is reasonable to put essential workers ahead of older adults, given their risks, and that they are disproportionately minorities. “Older populations are whiter, ” Dr. Schmidt said. “Society is structured in a way that enables them to live longer. Instead of giving additional health benefits to those who already had more of them, we can start to level the playing field a bit.”

The Elderly vs. Essential Workers: Who Should Get the Coronavirus Vaccine First? - The New York Times

Wonderful.

 

[pnewton]

Pay wall, but I get the gist. The reasoning used is terrible, that race or age should be a factor in life issues. White people get to live longer on average so let them die? It is absurd and contradictory of human dignity as expressed in pro-life theology. Essential workers need to go first because of that is the number one principle of rescue and treatment - keep them save so they can continue to save lives. The elderly need to go first because they are most at risk for death.

My solution would be to prioritize them both simultaneously with the first vaccines being distributed based on logistics.

 

[PaulinVA]

From the article:

“If your goal is to maximize the preservation of human life, then you would bias the vaccine toward older Americans,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said recently. “If your goal is to reduce the rate of infection, then you would prioritize essential workers. So it depends what impact you’re trying to achieve.”

 

[mojoalthor]

Each State is determining it’s own criteria. If I was 7 years older I would have gotten my shot already during phase 1. Otherwise I have to wait for phase II. Other’s will have to wait for phase III & IV. If you are healthy and non-essential you fall into phase IV which way in the future.