COVID-19 differentiated measures for unvaccinated individuals: The need for clear goals and strong justifications.
Vaccine
; 40(36): 5333-5337, 2022 08 26.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35931635
Numerous countries and jurisdictions have implemented differential COVID-19 public health restrictions based on individual vaccination status to mitigate the public health risks posed by unvaccinated individuals. Although it is scientifically and ethically justifiable to introduce such vaccination-based differentiated measures as a risk-based approach to resume high-risk activities in an ongoing pandemic, their justification is weakened by lack of clarity on their intended goals and the specific risks or potential harms they intend to mitigate. Furthermore, the criteria for the removal of differentiated measures may not be clear, which raises the possibility of shifting goalposts without clear justification and with potential for unfairly discriminatory consequences. This paper seeks to clarify the ethical justification of COVID-19 vaccination-based differentiated measures based on a public health risk-based approach, with focus on their deployment in domestic settings. We argue that such measures should be consistent with the principal goal of COVID-19 vaccination programmes, which is to reduce the incidence of severely ill patients and associated healthcare burdens so as to protect a health system. We provide some considerations for the removal of vaccination-based differentiated measures based on this goal.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
COVID-19
Aspecto:
Ethics
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Vaccine
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Singapur
Pais de publicación:
Países Bajos