<p class="Inside-first-paragraph-drop-cap">C<span class="CharOverride-7">enters for Disease Control and Prevention advisors cited ethical reasons for selecting healthcare workers as first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.</span></p>
Ethical Framework for Prioritizing Healthcare Workers for Vaccine
Maximize benefit, equity, justice, fairness
November 1, 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisors cited ethical reasons that included these summarized below for selecting healthcare workers as first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine:
Maximize Benefits
- Essential for response;
- May decrease transmission to patients, coworkers, community;
- Decrease COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in some healthcare personnel (HCP), since approximately 40% have high-risk conditions or are over 65 years of age;
- May be in low redundancy jobs where absenteeism may compromise/stop care.
Equity
- Overrepresentation of some racial or ethnic minority groups and lower income earners;
- Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 higher among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black HCP;
- Larger proportion of staff at long-term care facilities are female and non-Hispanic Black persons and are disproportionately lower-wage workers.
Justice
- HCP recommended for early phase vaccination have an equal opportunity to access vaccine;
- Definition of HCP includes “paid and unpaid persons serving in healthcare settings.”
Fairness
- Can help reduce disparities in health outcomes;
- Acknowledges increased risk of COVID-19 exposure because of the essential nature of their work.
