论文信息 - COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources.

COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources.

When hospitals face surges of patients with COVID-19, fair allocation of scarce medical resources remains a challenge. Scarcity has at times encompassed not only hospital and intensive care unit beds—often reflecting staffing shortages—but also therapies and intensive treatments. Safe, highly effective COVID-19 vaccines have been free and widely available since mid-2021, yet many Americans remain unvaccinated by choice. Should their decision to forgo vaccination be considered when allocating scarce resources? Some have suggested it should,1 while others disagree.2 We offer a framework for evaluating when it is ethical and briefly discuss its legality in American law.

G. Persad | E. Largent

[1] G. Corbie-Smith. Vaccine Hesitancy Is a Scapegoat for Structural Racism. , 2021, JAMA health forum.

[2] B. Lo,et al. Mitigating Inequities and Saving Lives with ICU Triage during the COVID-19 Pandemic , 2020, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[3] E. Emanuel,et al. An ethical framework for global vaccine allocation , 2020, Science.

[4] A. McGuire,et al. Ventilator Triage Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic at U.S. Hospitals Associated With Members of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors , 2020, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[5] I. Redlener,et al. Mitigating Absenteeism in Hospital Workers During a Pandemic , 2009, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.