An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines
We finally have a vaccine for the COVID-19 crisis. However, due to the limited numbers of the vaccine, states will have to consider how to prioritise groups who receive the vaccine. In this paper, we argue that the practical implementation of human rights law requires broader consideration of inters...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2021-02-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/2/e004462.full |
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| author | Sharifah Sekalala Lisa Forman Michael Parker Katrina Perehudoff Belinda Rawson Maxwell Smith |
| author_facet | Sharifah Sekalala Lisa Forman Michael Parker Katrina Perehudoff Belinda Rawson Maxwell Smith |
| author_sort | Sharifah Sekalala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We finally have a vaccine for the COVID-19 crisis. However, due to the limited numbers of the vaccine, states will have to consider how to prioritise groups who receive the vaccine. In this paper, we argue that the practical implementation of human rights law requires broader consideration of intersectional needs in society and the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on population groups with pre-existing social and medical vulnerabilities. The existing frameworks/mechanisms and proposals for COVID-19 vaccine allocation have shortcomings from a human rights perspective that could be remedied by adopting an intersectional allocative approach. This necessitates that states allocate the first COVID-19 vaccines according to (1) infection risk and severity of pre-existing diseases; (2) social vulnerabilities; and (3) potential financial and social effects of ill health. In line with WHO’s guidelines on universal health coverage, a COVID-19 vaccine allocation strategy that it is more consistent with international human rights law should ensure that vaccines are free at the point of service, give priority to the worst off and be allocated in a transparent, participatory and accountable prioritisation process. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-75dcadcf8c074b43b1c91b51b4031eed |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-75dcadcf8c074b43b1c91b51b4031eed2024-12-05T06:10:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082021-02-016210.1136/bmjgh-2020-004462An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccinesSharifah Sekalala0Lisa Forman1Michael Parker2Katrina Perehudoff3Belinda Rawson4Maxwell Smith5School of Law, University of Warwick Faculty of Social Sciences, Coventry, West Midlands, UKDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaEthox Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKWHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability, and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector, University of Toronto Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaSchool of Law, University of Warwick, Coventry, UKSchool of Health Studies, Western University, London, Ontario, CanadaWe finally have a vaccine for the COVID-19 crisis. However, due to the limited numbers of the vaccine, states will have to consider how to prioritise groups who receive the vaccine. In this paper, we argue that the practical implementation of human rights law requires broader consideration of intersectional needs in society and the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on population groups with pre-existing social and medical vulnerabilities. The existing frameworks/mechanisms and proposals for COVID-19 vaccine allocation have shortcomings from a human rights perspective that could be remedied by adopting an intersectional allocative approach. This necessitates that states allocate the first COVID-19 vaccines according to (1) infection risk and severity of pre-existing diseases; (2) social vulnerabilities; and (3) potential financial and social effects of ill health. In line with WHO’s guidelines on universal health coverage, a COVID-19 vaccine allocation strategy that it is more consistent with international human rights law should ensure that vaccines are free at the point of service, give priority to the worst off and be allocated in a transparent, participatory and accountable prioritisation process.https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/2/e004462.full |
| spellingShingle | Sharifah Sekalala Lisa Forman Michael Parker Katrina Perehudoff Belinda Rawson Maxwell Smith An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines BMJ Global Health |
| title | An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines |
| title_full | An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines |
| title_fullStr | An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines |
| title_full_unstemmed | An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines |
| title_short | An intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to COVID-19 vaccines |
| title_sort | intersectional human rights approach to prioritising access to covid 19 vaccines |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/2/e004462.full |
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