TY  - JOUR
TI  - COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization Must be Driven byScience
AB  - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices(ACIP) recently voted 13 to one to prioritize the disposition of the COVID-19 vaccine first to healthcare workersand residents at long-term care facilities (LTCFs) (1). ACIP decision is contradictory, as it was guided by the ethicalprinciples to “maximize benefits and minimize harms” while simultaneously citing that “LTCF residents have notbeen specifically studied” (2). The American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Ethics on allocating limited healthcare resources states that physicians have a responsibility to contribute their expertise to develop “allocation poli cies that are fair and safeguard the welfare of patients”, and “use an objective, flexible, transparent mechanismto determine which patients will receive the resource(s) when there are not substantial differences among patientswho need access to the scarce resource(s)” (3). We, therefore, agree with the dissenting vote made by Dr. Talbotfrom ACIP that it is incumbent upon physicians to protect the welfare of patients and do no harm, particularly inthe absence of data regarding potential side effects.
AU  - MAZZA, Joseph J.
AU  - YALE, Eileen S.
AU  - Tekiner, Halil
AU  - Yale, Steven
DO  - 10.14744/etd.2020.43067
PY  - 2021
JO  - Erciyes Medical Journal
VL  - 43
IS  - 3
SN  - 2149-2247
SP  - 305
EP  - 306
DB  - TRDizin
UR  - http://search/yayin/detay/490514
ER  -