Is It Ethical to Get a Vaccine Before It’s Your Turn?
A bioethicist argues that if the opportunity arises (without cheating the system) for you to get the vaccine early, you should take it
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Two Washington D.C. men were offered the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine while shopping at a Giant Food supermarket on January 2. The pharmacist at the store told them that she had two leftover doses she’d have to throw out when the store closed in 10 minutes because the first responders who were scheduled to receive the vaccines had missed their appointments. One of the men, David MacMillan, posted a TikTok video of the chance encounter, paired to the mashup song “Celebrate the Good Times.” He will return to the pharmacy to receive the second dose later this month.
The situation MacMillan found himself in is rare — he’s a 22-year-old law student and would not have been eligible to receive the vaccine until the final phase of the city’s rollout. But it raises the ethical question of whether someone should get the vaccine early if the opportunity presents itself. Would that lucky person take the spot of someone else who needs it more, or is it saving a potentially wasted dose?
