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Who Gets a Vaccine First? U.S. Considers Race in Coronavirus Plans:
Federal health officials are already trying to decide who will get the first doses of any effective coronavirus vaccines, which could be on the market this winter but could require many additional months to become widely available to Americans.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an advisory committee of outside health experts in April began working on a ranking system for what may be an extended rollout in the United States. According to a preliminary plan, any approved vaccines would be offered to vital medical and national security officials first, and then to other essential workers and those considered at high risk — the elderly instead of children, people with underlying conditions instead of the relatively healthy.
Agency officials and the advisers are also considering what has become a contentious option: putting Black and Latino people, who have disproportionately fallen victim to Covid-19, ahead of others in the population.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @10:15PM (5 children)
"putting Black and Latino people, who have disproportionately fallen victim to Covid-19, ahead of others in the population."
We could come up with so many criteria, like type of occupations, available healthcare, etc., to prioritize those at higher risks, instead of such ham-fisted idiocy (Affirmative Action all over again).
I mean, blacks and latinos aren't getting hit harder simply because they are are blacks and latinos.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @11:34PM
That's what the CDC is doing (break with tradition and read TFA).
Vaccinating a nation as big as the US, let alone the whole world, will require staging of vaccinations, as we need to ramp up production capacity, despite the billions we're paying big pharma. Not that I think it's a bad idea, although I think it would be a good idea to have contingencies build into such contracts that obligates all the participants to pivot (as quickly as is practicable) to producing the vaccine that's approved first.
Regardless, it's appropriate to prioritize those most at risk. It also makes sense to also prioritize those who are treating COVID patients, whether those are doctors/nurses/hospital staff, first responders or other folks whose jobs put them in contact with lots of people.
That's almost certainly true.
Since we still live in a pretty segregated society, geographic location can often be a proxy for ethnicity and/or melanin content.
The controversy could be avoided by just looking at case/complications/mortality rates by zip code or census tract [msu.edu], and prioritize the places where negative outcomes are highest.
Regardless, those who are most at risk should be given priority. Use the data and prioritize accordingly.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @12:51AM (3 children)
AA is dumb, blunt instrument. Even if you think it was necessary at the time, the time has changed.
Today, AA benefit mostly upper-class black and latino kids, not the inner city blacks and latinos.
The inner-city blacks and latinos face similar problems as the trailer trash whites, Native Americans in the reserves, Asian/Muslim immigrants in the ghetto, etc. etc. Why the discrimination among them? Why exacerbate racial/tribal tension? Just so the rich and powerful, be you white/brown/black, can hide in you bunker while the naive plebes go on a racial riots and kill each other? While serving you rich overlords?
This is why the renewed BLM won't do shit. It needs to widen the scope. Be inclusive. Listen to Doctor King.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @06:32AM
You sound like a filthy socialist to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @01:24PM (1 child)
The parent poster is not wrong. One of the big reasons that the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s was so effective is that they had smart people organizing and they were fighting real problems. These days, most of the problems they're fighting are stupid and not even communicated to other groups in an intelligent way. Even when videos do come out that clearly indicate that the movement is wrong, you never hear any acknowledgement about it.
If they want credibility, it would be helpful to be less ignorant and racist than the people that you're accusing of being ignorant and racist. Much of what they're fighting to end was already dealt with or is already illegal. Once laws are changed, it can take decades for the results to finalize.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @04:05PM
Good point. You got the vote. So vote, don't come bitching at me that 70% of you don't vote.