The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccines

Vaccines are unique as unlike other drugs and medications, they are administered to a large population of mostly healthy individuals, often young children, for prophylaxis. Until January 2020, vaccines were defined as agents that work through protection of the individual as well as at the population level, for example, through herd immunity or eradication of the infectious agent. Thus, they were subjected to the highest safety standards. But all the safety standards as well as the definition of vaccine and anti-vaxxer were changed as COVID-19 vaccines were developed with “warp” speed. While these…