Who Should Be Next in Line?

ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS, fairness is one of our most innate moral intuitions. As a parent, I can vouch for this because I routinely navigate the extra-sensitive fairness meters of bickering siblings. Young or old, we protest perceived slights in the same terms: “That is so unfair!”

This snap judgment, however, is not always accurate. Consequently, when circumstances trigger a reflexive accusation of unfairness, we should pause to verify that we are not off base. As Christians, especially, we must test our gut reactions against the insights of our faith to ensure that our intuitions match our convictions.

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is a paradigmatic illustration of this responsibility.

With a limited supply likely deep into 2021, many who want the vaccine will be unable to get it for quite some time. Recognizing this reality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has created guidelines for who should have priority at each stage of the rollout. According to ACIP, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities have priority, and after that essential workers and those over 75 should have access before anyone else.

For those who do not fall into the earliest priority groups, the temptation to cry “unfair!” will be omnipresent. But is this indictment really justified?

The issue, of course, comes down to what we mean by fairness, a term so closely related to the idea of justice that the 20th century political philosopher John Rawls crafted an entire theory of justice as fairness. Christian thinkers have historically preserved the classic notion of justice as giving to each person his or her due. In the words of Thomas Aquinas, “Just as love of God includes love of our neighbor ... so too the service of God includes rendering to each one [their] due.” Biblical justice, meanwhile, emphasizes the restoration of right relationship. By either measure, there is a strong argument to be made in support of ACIP’s recommendations.

Think back to March 2020, when the United States experienced its most intense period of lockdown. Anyone who could work from home did, but not everyone had that luxury. Many workers—disproportionately those who identify as people of color, which is no coincidence—were told they had to show up on the job because their labor was “essential.” In effect, we asked these grocery store employees, bus drivers, first responders, and others to subject themselves to the risk of infection so that society could function as normally as possible.

While most essential workers have not experienced the worst symptoms of COVID-19, not all were that lucky. Of all U.S. adults in high-risk categories for COVID-19, 41 percent are essential workers who cannot work from home. In all cases, we collectively asked these people to make the very sacrifices that the rest of us worked so hard to avoid. Worse, we left them defenseless in the process, because there was not enough protective equipment to meet the demand.

Christians in particular cannot look askance at this situation, for as the biblical scholar John R. Donahue explains, “Concern for the defenseless in society is not a command designed simply to promote social harmony, but is rooted in the nature of Yahweh ... who is a defender of the oppressed.” We have a covenant with the worker just as much as we have one with our elders, and we must honor it if we wish to restore right relationship in society. As a matter of justice, we owe them something for the hazards we asked them to endure.

To give essential workers—in health care and beyond—the next priority for the vaccine is not, therefore, an injustice rooted in age discrimination against those under 75. It is a just acknowledgment of the sacrifices they have made and a belated reaffirmation of the fundamental Christian tenet that every human being is equally made in the image and likeness of God.

For those of us farther down the waiting list, let our patience be our contribution to this overdue pursuit of equity and social justice.