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DISCUSSION: Prioritization in the Homeland and National Security (HNS) Group

COMMENT: Are we really prioritizing no one?


Submitted by David A. Sherman on 12/5/07 7:57 PM

This entire discussion regarding 1st-tier status for teachers only emphasizes the dilemma of vaccine allocation, and the need for a process like this to develop a clear policy. It really does take a village to raise a child, and only the people in that village who are healthy enough can help do so. But at a certain tipping point (as with the question of early vaccination for families of high-risk workers), we start to talk about prioritizing everybody. We could take this even further: parents are also necessary in childrearing, and thus a part of maintenance of social order (Note that Secretary Leavitt has said that priority for treatment in a pandemic should go to those who keep society going; this would have to include parents). Unfortunately, with limited vaccine supplies, prioritizing so many means prioritizing practically no one. (Full disclosure: I'm a direct caregiver, and parent of a teen and a 10-year-old)



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Welcome from your Facilitators

Submitted by Nicholas Dewar Facilitator  on 12/5/07 06:11 AM