Controversy over who gets the Corona vaccine first … leaders, doctors or young people?

In the first few months of Corona vaccine production, doses will be in the millions, which is much less than global demand, so governments in all countries of the world have started creating lists of people who will have priority in getting Corona vaccine.

Al-Hurra cited the Washington Post newspaper that governments will try to balance between saving the lives of the most vulnerable and those at greatest risk of contracting the Coronavirus, such as the elderly, and the need for essential workers – regardless of their definition – to continue working.

Some countries are considering targeting the most at-risk groups such as obese people, while some countries want to target groups that have the greatest potential for spreading the virus, such as prisons and universities.

Priority setting

However, many countries have agreed to give top priority to frontline health workers, along with first responders such as ambulance workers, but many questions arise about the category of health workers, for example, which employs 1.4 million people. Worker, not everyone interacts with patients.

In Japan, the Ministry of Health has announced plans to distribute vaccines in line with medical risks, with the elderly placed at the forefront, while in Europe, health officials appear to be inclined to early vaccination of residents and caregivers in nursing homes. since the virus caused the most losses. And where governments in Belgium, Great Britain, Spain and elsewhere feel embarrassed to do business with them.

While the German Vaccine Committee announced that, before the end of the year, it will present a research-supported classification with more details on who will be granted early access and said: “With evidence-based reasons, we will explain why the priority rankings are assigned to specific groups “.

And the political leaders?

Philip Clark, a health economist at the University of Oxford, said the priority lists will depend on how long the vaccines take to become widely available and added, “which means that if everyone has access to the vaccine for a period of weeks, it may not matter who goes first or last. ” If vaccines are launched slowly, over several months, it may be very important who starts first or last.

In Britain, after vaccinating healthcare workers and nursing home residents, the government tends to distribute the vaccine by age group, over 80, followed by over 75, and over 70, before extend it to other risk groups.

In China, officials want to include dock workers, who provide the vital loading and unloading service of the cargo ships that fuel their trade, while in Indonesia the government is emphasizing the protection of young workers to keep the economy alive.

But the question remains: what about political leaders? Should members of the House of Representatives, Senate and Cabinet be given priority in getting the vaccine, regardless of age considerations?

For its part, the World Health Organization believes in its first guidelines on vaccine distribution, that it makes sense for political leaders to get the vaccine first, but confirms that this category includes a small number of individuals.