Should the Covid-19 vaccine be given equally, or should some people be prioritised?

This month’s Inequality Question focused on: “Should the Covid-19 vaccine be given equally, or should some people be prioritised?”

 We received 51 responses and the discussion was viewed over 290 times!

To make sure all the young people we work with were safe, they were in our Drop-In Centre and were all following COVID-19 safety guidelines.

There were some common ideas such as vaccinating the vulnerable first, and ensuring access to vaccine supplies for poorer countries.

Let’s have a look at some of the comments…

Many people commented that the COVID-19 vaccine should be given to older people before the rest of the population:

• “Ideally I would suggest that the covid19 vaccine be prioritized first to the old people who are the very Covid19 victims, their immune seems to have lowered and so it would need to be boosted with this vaccine so that their bodies are able to repel the disease” – Ntangazwa, Uganda
• “I think giving priority to a specific category of people will help the most vulnerable ones to the disease.” – Moreen, Uganda
• “Although all age groups are at risk of contracting COVID-19, older people face significant risk of developing severe illness if they contract the disease due to physiological changes that come with ageing and potential underlying health conditions.” – Linah, Uganda

Others mentioned the importance of ensuring all countries receive the vaccine equally:

• “I fear needles but would have the vaccine if offered it. It’s our duty to our community. The current vaccine programmes seem mostly to be the richer countries benefiting. I think the countries worse affected should get the vaccine first to prevent the most loss of life.” – Freida
• “I’m worried that richer countries are getting the vaccine and poorer ones aren’t. I think old people everywhere should get it first.” – Henry

We also had some comments about the importance of vaccinating those who come into regular contact with others:

• “I think to prevent the most deaths we should start by vaccinating the people who are meeting most with others through their jobs i.e. shop workers, cleaners, health workers, teachers etc.That is the way to most quickly help to reduce the spread of the disease the fastest compared to vaccinating people who are shielding I believe” – Zack, USA
• “I wonder what the plans are to give the vaccine to undocumented people such as the homeless or some refugees who came by illegal routes. I worry they might miss out and yet they move around a lot putting themselves and others around them at risk.” – Teri
• “I think that it should be given to all the elderly people (over 70’s) first in order of age, then healthcare workers and people with underlying health conditions. The it should be given to anyone with jobs where they come into contact with lots of people, such as teachers, shop workers, police etc. Then everyone else should have it in order of age – oldest first. I think that all countries should have equal access to the vaccine and that it should be free for people in every country. The rich should not be able to pay to have it sooner than others.” – Amy, UK

In conclusion…

In this month’s discussion, we have seen many fascinating answers on who should be prioritised in COVID-19 vaccination programmes. Thank you for everyone who joined in. The children find it so interesting to exchange ideas with people from around the world.

We hope to receive more comments in the discussion next month. Thanks again for sharing your ideas and we look forward to seeing you again.