본문 바로가기
  • Home

Ethical Issues in the French Vaccination Campaign Against COVID-19

  • Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
  • Abbr : 의료윤리
  • 2021, 24(2), pp.139-158
  • DOI : 10.35301/ksme.2021.24.2.139
  • Publisher : The Korean Society For Medical Ethics
  • Research Area : Medicine and Pharmacy > General Medicine
  • Received : February 16, 2021
  • Accepted : April 7, 2021
  • Published : June 30, 2021

Joetegu ORD ID 1

1경희대학교 HK+통합의료인문학연구단

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines that developed earlier than expected, the end of long Coronavirus era seems to be in sight. However, the vaccination news from all across the world tells us that Coronavirus vaccinations are a matter of order, unlike prevention. In particular, right after the French vaccination campaign launched on December 27th, 2020, the confusion and chaos shown in its early stage of the French vaccination campaign require a close examination since their vaccination strategy was based on the ethical value of respect for human dignity. In the initial French vaccination plan, their vaccine prioritization criteria were established based on, first of all, saving lives. They tried to maximize the liberty of the individual by ensuring patient autonomy in its execution. The values that the French vaccination campaign based on were fundamental and universal human values that everyone could agree on. Thus, the confusion shown in the French vaccination campaign raises the following question: “In a crisis like a global pandemic, does emphasizing the universal values only delay or worsen the existing crisis situation?” In this paper, we analyze the initial French vaccination campaign and reveal the underlying ethical assumptions. Then we track the later revisions of the campaign and evaluate them. Finally, we conclude with the answer to the upper mentioned question.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.