[Phanuthier]

So, the whole H1N1 got me thinking, the day that a real epidemic comes along, who gets the first vaccines? And how do you pick it?

A few years ago, a few companies requested their employees to do an informal survey (from the gov't?) about if Avian Flu really became a serious epidemic, questions like who gets the first vaccine, who gets it and who doesn't, and so on. (A serious epidemic as in one that will take out a significant portion of the worlds population.)

Why do women, children and elders get the first shot? Where did this priority come from? From a logical perspective, children make sense to me (longest to live) but why women over men? Why elders when they have less years to live? (if this truely were a serious epidemic with large parts of the population getting whiped out).

As the thread goes on the Flames and H1N1, we all know those who have power and those who have money will get to the front of the line. Then the rest of us. But where does the priority begin? How important is it to vaccinate public figures (from political leaders to sports athletes to actors)... after all, people with big names who get sick will draw more attention than me and you.

Rankings done with consideration for the service certain professions bring, law enforcement, controlling hysteria, age and how much longer a 10 year old will live than a 70 year old, contribution to society post-epidemic after much of the worlds population has been wiped out, et al.

How I would rank priority, in order:
- Political leaders
- Medical workers
- civil servants (police, fireman et al)
- children
- celebs
- young adults who have children (< 40 year old is where I'd probably consider young adults)
- young adults without children (< 25 year)
- young professionals (i.e. those with post-secondary education degrees, certificates, et al, < 30 years old, priority given loosely by contribution of their profession, i.e. teachers at the top of the list all the way down to... lets say, film studies)
.
.
.

Consideration in the "..." given by age (youngest priority, going to lowest), employment (an employed pereson priority over a homeless), health history (bias and contraversal, but I think it makes more sense to vaccinate those who are healthy over someone who has a terminal illness but will live for, lets say, 10 more years)

Tough decisions to make...