COVID-19 vaccination in India: An ethical perspective

COVID-19 had put world to a standstill with enormous morbidity and mortality. Vaccines' development against this provided a beacon of hope. India approved different vaccines under emergency use authorization but distribution of vaccines and vaccination of huge population was a challenging task. We attempted to review the vaccination program from an ethics perspective.

The core ethical principles of healthcare and other tenets put forth in discussion papers on addressing ethical issues in pandemic influenza planning, ethical considerations in developing a public health response to pandemic influenza and World Health Organization (WHO) Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination were used to identify the ethical concerns in the vaccination program of the country. Relevant ministry guidelines, documents, websites etc., were accessed.

The program tried addressing many of the ethical principles laid out in various international documents. Approving indigenously produced vaccines upheld the principle of utility while prioritizing health care workers for vaccination was an example of reciprocity. However, vaccine approval without availability of trial results in public domain raised apprehensions and lacked transparency. Lack of well-defined mechanism to facilitate vaccination for socially disadvantaged groups compromises equity.

Overall, the program fared well on most aspects of ethical principles, but there were few gaps which still exist. These should be taken care of as the country advances further into vaccination program to garner enhanced public trust in the scientific, regulatory and administrative authorities.