Catharine Richert, MPR News; 4 questions to help sort through the ethics of getting a COVID vaccine before you’re eligible
"‘Participation in the common good’
In general, University of Minnesota bioethicist Joel Wu says, the answer straightforward: If you aren’t eligible to get a vaccine according to those state rules, you should wait your turn.
That’s especially true as vaccine demand continues to outpace supply. The state’s phased eligibility approach was designed to prioritize vaccination for people at the highest risk of getting severe cases of COVID-19.
Because of that, Wu said, a person’s decision to jump the line to get a vaccine for which they’re not yet eligible comes down to pitting individual desires against our obligations to society at large.
“There really needs to be a reawakening in the idea of participation in the common good, where each of us have to play our part to be healthy and safe together,” he said.""
