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KMID : 1172020210220010037
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Journal of Korean Bioethics Association
2021 Volume.22 No. 1 p.37 ~ p.54
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Ethics of vaccine passport: is it just to differentially treat people depending on their COVID-19 vaccination status?
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Lee Kyung-Do
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Abstract
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The COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens the health of individuals but also disrupts social interactions and human economies. Several authorized vaccines for COVID-19, which are deemed safe and effective, have been being rolled-out in South-Korea. According to the recent data, it is safe to assume that those vaccines are effective in protecting the vaccinated from contracting COVID-19 and also in reducing the risk of hospitalization among infected individuals. Based on this assumption, it has been suggested to resume some kinds of social activities, which have been upon stringent restrictions for the risk of spreading COVID-19, only for those who are vaccinated. Major opponents against this sort of differential treatment based on COVID-19 vaccination status, so called “vaccine passport”, claim that it will bring about unjust and unfair discrimination against unvaccinated people. They are also worried about the higher prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among the disadvantaged and potential increase in the risk of spreading COVID-19 among the unvaccinated. This article is to respond to these oppositions and worries, and articulate several conditions which have to be met for its just and fair implementation before lifting up restrictions only for the vaccinated. The main claim is basically that, under those carefully defined conditions, special treatment for the vaccinated is not pro tanto unjust.
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KEYWORD
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COVID-19, Vaccine Passport, Public Health Ethics, Medical Ethics, Egalitarianism
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