Vaccine Equity in the Triage State: From Access to Allocation *

The broader principle of equity remains nebulous, posing a quintessential dilemma: what constitutes fairness in allocation? This paper submits that the variance in “priority” reflects a nation’s moral stance, making the pandemic an illuminating lens through which the ethical inclinations of various societies can be juxtaposed. [...] Introduction Those who have less in life should have more in law.2 Such is the principle of social justice nestled within the provisions of the 1987 Constitution.3 Promising de jure and de facto protections alike, the dictates * The submissions is an original work of the authors. [...] In its Statement on the Coronavirus Disease, the Committee of Economic Social, and Cultural Rights highlighted how the devastation “wrought by COVID-19 has not been equally distributed amongst all people.”5 Inequity is indeed the hallmark of the pandemic.6 In principle, the matter is clear: Equity dictates that those who suffer more be given more— it is but just! But amidst bleaker realities, givi. [...] Certain categories of workers, such as delivery workers, garbage collection workers, manual labourers and workers in the agricultural sector, are exposed to heightened risks of being infected, as the nature of their work does not allow them to take advantage of dispensations to work from home using digital technology. [...] Several groups are severely disadvantaged by the economic consequences of measures adopted in a number of countries to contain the spread of COVID-19.