on May 12th, 2006Avian Bird Flu : Who Dies, Who Gets the Vaccine (Seniors Last)
In the event of a bird flu pandemic, some researchers think that seniors should be last in line for the life saving vaccine. The reasoning is simple: younger people have more life to live. One thing is for sure, the policy regarding these types of decision better be front and center and in writing, because without careful ethical reasoning, chaos and anarchy are sure to explode.
The sick and elderly should be the last to be given a flu vaccine in a pandemic, according to a controversial paper published today in the journal Science. Healthy teens and young productive adults aged 13 to 40 should get the vaccine ahead of the old and sick, states the commentary, which calls for a radical rethinking of how countries ought to ration the short supply of vaccine in the months after a pandemic breaks out.
“Why should we value someone who’s 65 and going to live 15 more years compared to a 20-year-old who’s going to live 60 more years?” he asked.
Discriminate in pandemic, magazine suggests
May 12, 2006. 02:01 PM
RITA DALY
STAFF REPORTER