A big component of vaccine distribution has been utilizing ethics to determine vaccine prioritization. Issac Chotiner of The New Yorker speaks with immunologist Barry Bloom to discuss what goes into making decisions on vaccine distribution.
“The first year of the Covid-19 pandemic revealed that a country’s wealth would not spare it from the virus. Overconfidence, poor planning and ignored warnings felled the world’s richest nations. But now, money is translating into undeniable advantages.”
With efficacious medications available, ethics considers who has access to these drugs and who is at risk of losing them. Under COVID-19, the pandemic has accelerated the growth of many health disparities in the United States. Recently, there has been an increase in “pharmacy deserts”, where people struggle to fill medications locally because the drugs are no longer covered...