Priority setting during the COVID-19 pandemic: going beyond vaccines
Iestyn Williams, Beverley M. Essue, Élysée Nouvet, Lars Sandman, Donya Razavi, Mariam Noorulhuda, Susan Dorr Goold, Marion Danis, Godfrey Biemba, Julia Abelson, Lydia Kapiriri
Abstract
Development of vaccines is a major breakthrough in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Much attention has been paid to how to prioritise between patient groups for vaccination and how to ensure equity, especially in low-income countries, but there are other important decisions that need to be made. These decisions include: (a) choosing between the various vaccines that will become available, (b) continuing to invest in other aspects of the COVID-19 response and (c) balancing the COVID-19 response with the need to invest in other healthcare that has suffered during the pandemic. Although these decisions are inherently difficult, principles of good priority setting can be helpful; these principles include: evidence-based and transparent decision-making, participation of stakeholders and a focus on the implementation of decisions.