Ethical Issues in COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers aspired to produce an effective vaccine with appropriate efficacy and low side effects to mitigate the pandemic. It seems that vaccination is the only mean to save the world from this pandemic. In this article, we will review the ethical challenges of mass vaccination (focusing on the vaccine distribution and uptake), referring to the main principles of bioethics. Safe and standard manufacturing and passing scientific and ethical stages, as well as evaluation of efficacy and safety monitoring, are the main considerations in the production of vaccines. Justice requires that vulnerable and high-risk individuals be vaccinated sooner. Public vaccination must therefore be ethically prioritized. Individuals may for some reason resist vaccination. For example due to, the confusion caused by mass media information, public’s distrust of the medical profession, the proposed relationship between vaccination and development of certain diseases, and finally low death rate due to covid 19 in some groups, especially young and healthy individuals. However, as the disease is highly contagious and if it spreads, the death rate and hospitalization due to the disease rises sharply, and the consequences of the disease mainly affect vulnerable people, in moral decision-making, the benefits and harms of the vaccine for each person should be considered against the benefits for and harms to the society. In addition, to respect the individuals’ autonomy, cultural modalities and persuasive programs shall be considered. This article is aimed to address the ethical issues of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout while proposing practical solutions to handle them.