The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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The end of 2020 was sweetened somewhat by news that scientists had created multiple effective vaccines for COVID-19. On receiving this news, states moved rapidly to confront the next major hurdle in the battle against the pandemic: the mass production and distribution of vaccines. Programs of public immunization are already underway in countries fortunate enough to enjoy access to the limited supply of vaccines. But for many months, and perhaps years, this supply will be subject to scarcity. Most people agree that available doses should be distributed in an equitable and fair fashion – but what, precisely, does that mean? What does just vaccine distribution look like in practice? What should our priorities be? Factors that must figure in the ethical and political calculus include the need to prevent premature deaths and long-term health problems, to reduce social and economic harms such as school and workplace closures, to help maintain the stable political function of societies, and to limit community transmission of the virus.