As Greg Gonsalves, a professor of epidemiology at
Yale University, argued, an age-based rollout doesn't guarantee equitable distribution of vaccines. "If you have access to resources, you're computer literate, and you have some savvy in working your way through the system to sign up for vaccines—you're going to be first in line no matter what age class you're in," he said.
Moreover, he pointed out that an age-based approach also ignores racial disparities in Covid-19 risk. "The risk of death for somebody who is African-American and between 55 and 65 may be higher than somebody who's over 65, for instance," Gonsalves said.