Publication Date
4-8-2022
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
Sturm College of Law
Keywords
Reciprocity, Resource allocation, Vaccination status
Abstract
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,while others disagree. We offer a framework for evaluating when it is ethical and briefly discuss its legality in American law.
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Govind Persad, Emily A. Largent
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
4
File Size
357 KB
Publication Title
JAMA Health Forum
First Page
1
Last Page
4
Recommended Citation
Govind Persad & Emily A. Largent, COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources, 3:4 JAMA HEALTH F. e220356 (2022).
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.0356