Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution
By Prabhdeep Multani ('23)
The COVID-19 vaccine is finally ready and available, but there lies a question on everyone's minds: Because vaccines are limited, who will receive them? There are a couple of factors that go into distribution. According to the CDC, 1.94 million doses of the vaccine have already been distributed in the United States.
The ACIP, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, set 3 goals for recommending which groups should receive the COVID-19 vaccination: Decrease death and serious disease as much as possible, preserve the functioning of society (society doesn’t collapse/stop functioning), and reduce the extra burden the disease is having on people already facing disparities (people who are already enduring complications don’t get too affected.)
The ACIP also identified four ethical principles to guide their decision-making process. The first principle is to maximize benefits and minimize harms, which means respecting and caring for people using the best available data to promote public health and minimizing death and severe illness as much as possible. We must use proven information to maximize the health of the people.
The second principle is to mitigate health inequities, which means making sure everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible, factoring in those with pre-existing medical complications.
The third principle is to promote justice, meaning that distribution must treat diverse groups, populations, and communities fairly. This also indicates moving unfair, unjust, and avoidable barriers to COVID-19 vaccination.
The fourth principle promotes transparency, which means making a decision that is clear, understandable, and open for review. The public will be allowed and encouraged to participate and have their voices heard in the decision process.
Courtesy of University of Michigan Health Lab
The ACIP decided that four groups should receive the vaccine first: workers in essential and critical industries (agriculture, government, etc.), healthcare personnel, people 65 years and older, and people at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness due to underlying medical conditions.
While news of the vaccine is relieving, it is critical to take precautions and maintain social distancing and mask-wearing until the CDC announces it is safe to return to our regular lives. We must all do our part, as a people, to beat this virus.
