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Volume 27, Number 8—August 2021
Perspective

Considerations for Establishing Successful Coronavirus Disease Vaccination Programs in Africa

Victor WilliamsComments to Author , Bassey Edem, Marianne Calnan, Kennedy Otwombe, and Charles Okeahalam
Author affiliations: University of the Witwatersrand School of Public Health, Johannesburg, South Africa (V. Williams, K. Otwombe); Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Fajara, The Gambia (B. Edem); University Research Co., LLC, Manila, the Philippines (M. Calnan); University of the Witwatersrand Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Johannesburg (K. Otwombe); University of the Witwatersrand Graduate School for Business Administration, Johannesburg (C. Okeahalam)

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Table 3

Guiding ethical principles when considering who should receive COVID-19 vaccine (35)*

Principle Description Practical application
Equality
 Equal interest of everyone unless good reasons to justify differential prioritization
 May be most appropriate to guide allocation of scarce resources among persons or populations who can be expected to derive the same benefit from the resource (e.g., high-risk populations)
Best outcomes
 Allocation according to capacity to do most good or minimize most harm (e.g., saving most possible lives)
 May be most appropriate to guide the allocation of scarce resources that confer substantially different benefits to different persons (e.g., groups expected to derive the most benefit)
Prioritize highest risk
 Allocation to persons most at risk
 May be most appropriate to guide allocation of resources intended to protect those most at risk (e.g., groups most at risk for infection and severe illness)
Prioritize those tasked with helping others Allocation to persons with certain skills that can save others or because of their participation in helping others (e.g., vaccine trial volunteers) May be most appropriate to guide allocation of resources to health care workers, first responders, vaccine trial participants, etc.

*COVID-19, coronavirus disease.

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Page created: May 27, 2021
Page updated: July 18, 2021
Page reviewed: July 18, 2021
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