Catholic response to flu vaccine shortage: ethics and common sense

Published: 2004-11-19

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- It's not a problem that Congress has been able to solve. But Catholic hospitals and other health institutions have been playing a central role in dealing with the nationwide shortage of influenza vaccine that has left many communities scrambling to find solutions for their most vulnerable populations -- the elderly, children under 2, pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses. The crisis arose in early October when Chiron Corp. of San Francisco announced that because of a contamination problem at its manufacturing plant in England it was withdrawing its Fluvirin vaccine from the market, leaving only enough in the United States to vaccinate about a third of those to whom the vaccine is usually targeted. During a recent conference call sponsored by the Catholic Health Association, ethicists working for Catholic health care systems said decisions on allocating a scarce resource like flu vaccines must be based on an ethical discernment process rooted in justice, fairness and a certain measure of common sense.

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