On the Proposal not to Vaccinate the Aged for COVID-19

Abstract

Public Health Practice champions the objective of saving lives when allocating scarce resources. Bioethical precepts advocate equal respect for individuals. Anti-discrimination laws forbid making decisions on the basis of class or stereotypes. What happens when academics propose vaccine- allocation plans (in an article in The Conversation) which trespass on all three- promising that their plain will stop the epidemic?

Insidious schemes which seem to promise nirvana while violating human and civil rights need to be examined very carefully. In this case, a careful examination discloses the proposed plan is inherently flawed, not just from a legal and ethical perspective, but from a public health perspective as well.

Keywords: ethics, discrimination, stereotypes, superspreaders, elderly, vaccine allocation, triage, covid, public health, public heath practice

JEL Classification: I12. I14, I18, K32, K36