‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines
In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the fast and equitable distribution of effective vaccines worldwide is one of the challenges faced by international institutions in charge, as global equity in vaccine supply has not yet been achieved. Our paper explains the current state of ethical re...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Philosophies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/8/2/24 |
| _version_ | 1797226028779700224 |
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| author | Lina Corinna Heuberger Sophia Forster Andreas Frewer |
| author_facet | Lina Corinna Heuberger Sophia Forster Andreas Frewer |
| author_sort | Lina Corinna Heuberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the fast and equitable distribution of effective vaccines worldwide is one of the challenges faced by international institutions in charge, as global equity in vaccine supply has not yet been achieved. Our paper explains the current state of ethical research on equity in global COVID-19 vaccine allocation, focusing on the COVAX Facility established by the WHO, acting as the global vaccine distributor. The article presents a detailed analysis of the first year of COVAX allocation in 2021 identifying problematic aspects of its allocation framework regarding the implementation of COVAX’s fundamental allocation principles. We argue that the COVAX Facility has developed a proper concept to deal with global vaccine allocation—but to address uncovered defaults, we introduce the ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’ model—a both ethical and practically feasible alternative allocation framework to protect the value of human lives in both high- and low-income countries through fair and fast global vaccine distribution in health emergencies. Nonetheless, we argue that the COVAX Facility remains the main organization to provide equitable access to vaccines. Yet, the global community has to consider further aspects such as patent protection, vaccine production and the lack of power of global structures to address the inequities that have arisen. Since new wars and further crises have arisen, a shift in public global attention endangers the processing of COVID-19-related issues. That is why now more than ever extensive efforts to achieve vaccine equity are needed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:37:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ebba168bba14b4fb4053b81b16a5e34 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2409-9287 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T14:18:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Philosophies |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ebba168bba14b4fb4053b81b16a5e342024-04-03T08:13:17ZengMDPI AGPhilosophies2409-92872023-03-01822410.3390/philosophies8020024‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 VaccinesLina Corinna Heuberger0Sophia Forster1Andreas Frewer2Institute of Medical Ethics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyInstitute of Medical Ethics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyInstitute of Medical Ethics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyIn the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the fast and equitable distribution of effective vaccines worldwide is one of the challenges faced by international institutions in charge, as global equity in vaccine supply has not yet been achieved. Our paper explains the current state of ethical research on equity in global COVID-19 vaccine allocation, focusing on the COVAX Facility established by the WHO, acting as the global vaccine distributor. The article presents a detailed analysis of the first year of COVAX allocation in 2021 identifying problematic aspects of its allocation framework regarding the implementation of COVAX’s fundamental allocation principles. We argue that the COVAX Facility has developed a proper concept to deal with global vaccine allocation—but to address uncovered defaults, we introduce the ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’ model—a both ethical and practically feasible alternative allocation framework to protect the value of human lives in both high- and low-income countries through fair and fast global vaccine distribution in health emergencies. Nonetheless, we argue that the COVAX Facility remains the main organization to provide equitable access to vaccines. Yet, the global community has to consider further aspects such as patent protection, vaccine production and the lack of power of global structures to address the inequities that have arisen. Since new wars and further crises have arisen, a shift in public global attention endangers the processing of COVID-19-related issues. That is why now more than ever extensive efforts to achieve vaccine equity are needed.https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/8/2/24COVID-19allocationvaccineCOVAXdistributional justiceglobal health ethics |
| spellingShingle | Lina Corinna Heuberger Sophia Forster Andreas Frewer ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines Philosophies COVID-19 allocation vaccine COVAX distributional justice global health ethics |
| title | ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines |
| title_full | ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines |
| title_fullStr | ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines |
| title_short | ‘Prioritized Distribution of Equal Shares’—An Ethical and Practicable Allocation Framework for COVID-19 Vaccines |
| title_sort | prioritized distribution of equal shares an ethical and practicable allocation framework for covid 19 vaccines |
| topic | COVID-19 allocation vaccine COVAX distributional justice global health ethics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/8/2/24 |
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