In anticipation of a safe and effective vaccine against the Covid-19 contagion, which could be available for distribution as soon as 2021, public authorities are now seeking input regarding formulating policies for the equitable allocation of the vaccine in our country.
  
As the information in this link indicates, public hearings starting this week will solicit verbal and written input from individuals and community leaders. Please review and share with your local community the information below.
 
It is important that the whole community participates. Active and reflective engagement through various listening sessions is an important contribution to the ethics of compassionate and inclusive healthcare. Specifically, we need to be clear about how population-wide, tax-supported doses across the country will be accessible to meet all the nation's needs. An agreed upon approach should meet distributive and social justice values that inform municipal, county, state and Federal governments' health personnel and foreseeably the various medical divisions of state and national military.
 
We might well understand that not all can receive a vaccination on the first day and there needs to be a prioritization of recipients, such as health care workers, police, firefighters, and other first responders, followed by at-risk individuals. At the same time, it is also a priority to ensure that those on the margins of society are considered and made active participants in this discussion. Pastorally, we can use this process to help offset social inequities, engage our neighbors and help build a healthier and just Chicago area community.

Please share this information with your parishioners and others in your community so that input can be fully inclusive. If you have comments or questions on this or related matters, please contact my Vicar for Health Affairs,  Rev. William P. Grogan at 312.515.3152 or wgrogan@archchicago.org