Oral Presentations Abstracts: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS IN ROMANIAN COVID-19 VACCINATION CAMPAIGN

Petru SANDU; Maria ALUAȘ; Răzvan M. CHERECHEȘ

doi:10.24193/subbbioethica.2021.spiss.105

Authors

Petru SANDU National Institute of Public Health, Regional Public Health Center Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Maria ALUAȘ University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hațieganu, Department of Oral Health, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Răzvan M. CHERECHEȘ University Babeș-Bolyai, Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Department of Public Health, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbbioethica.2021.spiss.105

Abstract

View of Volume 66, Special Issue, September 2021

Besides its undoubtable significant contribution to morbidity and mortality worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous political, social, economic, and public health implications. Vaccination, an already long debated public health ethics theme, has reoccurred in force, as the efforts of the scientific community to curb the pandemic resulted in a viable vaccine less than one year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

High-level, international negotiations dictated states’ COVID-19 vaccine availability in the first few months, therefore each national Government had to develop and deploy vaccination campaigns prioritizing certain population categories.

This paper aims to present Romanian COVID-19 vaccination campaign, from its inception to the present days, by focusing on the ethical considerations (e.g. prioritization, coercion, non-discrimination) and their practical implications ( e.g. vaccination hesitancy, rates, fake news).

Like most countries in the European Community, Romania has initially adopted a Rawlsian approach to vaccination, prioritizing the older adults and the individuals with chronic conditions. However, unlike other European countries, coercion was not considered in any form (e.g. extended mobility facilities for the vaccinated), more recently incentives such as food vouchers being discussed.

The impact of these decisions on the vaccination rates and hesitancy are discussed in the context of other European countries examples of vaccination campaigns.