Ethical review of COVID-19 vaccination requirements for transplant center staff and patients

Olivia S. Kates, Peter G. Stock*, Michael G. Ison, Richard D.M. Allen, Patrizia Burra, Jong Cheol Jeong, Vivek Kute, Elmi Muller, Alejandro Nino-Murcia, Haibo Wang, Anji Wall

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Transplant centers seeking to increase coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine coverage may consider requiring vaccination for healthcare workers or for candidates. The authors summarize current data to inform an ethical analysis of the harms, benefits, and individual and societal impact of mandatory vaccination, concluding that vaccine requirements for healthcare workers and transplant candidates are ethically justified by beneficence, net utility, and fiduciary duty to patients and public health. Implementation strategies should mitigate concerns about respect for autonomy and transparency for both groups. We clarify how the same arguments might be applied to related questions of caregiver vaccination, allocation of other healthcare resources, and mandates for non-COVID-19 vaccines. Finally, we call for effort to achieve global equity in vaccination as soon as possible.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)371-380
Number of pages10
JournalAmerican Journal of Transplantation
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2022

Funding

The authors thank the following individuals for their thoughtful review of an early version of the manuscript: Curie Ahn (South Korea), Ian Dittmer (New Zealand), Riadh Fadhil (Qatar), Rudolf Garcia-Gallont (Guatemala), Ifeoma Ulasi (Nigeria), and Kristof Van Assche (Belgium).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Transplantation
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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