Who First? Allocation of Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2

Scientists around the world are working relentlessly to develop vaccines against the new coronavirus. Clinical trials are already being conducted. In mid-September 2020, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, responsible for the authorisation of vaccines in Germany, expressed confidence that one or even several vaccines against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 could be available by the turn of the year.

However, it is expected that vaccine doses will initially not be available for all people who wish to be vaccinated. So, what might a fair distribution of potential vaccines look like nationally and internationally? Which individuals or groups should be vaccinated first? Should there be different vaccination schedules depending on whether an approved vaccine provides age-group-specific protection? What medical and ethical criteria need to be considered?

In a “Bioethics Forum”, the German Ethics Council addresses these questions together with international experts. Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and of the German Ethics Council present different strategies. In a concluding panel discussion, both the mentioned experts from the WHO and the EGE as well as members of several European ethics councils will debate the question of vaccine distribution.

The Bioethics Forum is part of the 26th NEC Forum, the meeting of the National Ethics Councils of the European Union and the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE).

Welcome
Alena Buyx · Chair of the German Ethics Council

Presentations
Christiane Woopen · Chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies
Presentation (pdf | 5,4 MB)
Mariângela Simão · Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products at the World Health Organization
Presentation (pdf | 717 KB)
Alena Buyx · Chair of the German Ethics Council
Presentation (pdf | 465 KB)

Round table discussion
David Archard · Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, United Kingdom
Alena Buyx · Chair of the German Ethics Council
Jean-François Delfraissy · Chair of the French National Ethical Consultative Committee for Life Sciences and Health (CCNE)
Mariângela Simão · Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products at the World Health Organization
Christiane Woopen · Chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies
Chair: Susanne Schreiber · Vice Chair of the German Ethics Council