As a noted ethicist, we are often consulted about the issues of the day. And the current issue is who should get the vaccine first? We of course have the answer, because as our great law school property professor often said: "Sometimes wrong, never in doubt."
1. Doctors and nurses and hospital staff. This one is easy.
2. First responders. Ditto.
3. Elderly people in nursing homes and staff. Double ditto.
4. Witty legal bloggers from Miami.
5. People with medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension that make them more susceptible to adverse outcomes if infected with Covid.
6. US Armed forces.
7. Bartenders. It's been a long year.
8. Restaurant and food service staff- restaurants are suffering.
9. Athletes and Show performers. We need entertainment to help deal with the dark days ahead.
10. Meat processing plants personnel.
11. Corrections officers and inmates.
12. Courtroom staff like court reporters and clerks. (Except the person who staffs the attorney line on nine at the courthouse. Considering they appear to have been working from home since 2012, no rush to vaccinate that privileged individual).
14. Retail personnel.
15. Librarians.
16. Veterinarians.
17. Opticians.
18. Morticians.
19. Starbucks baristas and those that manage the windows at the small Cuban restaurants that serve Cafecitos.
20. Bagel makers.
21. Writers.
22. Sanitation workers.
23. Casino workers.
24. Zamboni operators.
25. Used car salespeople.
26. Microsoft and Apple helpline employees.
27. The weather women on Channel Seven.
28. Butchers and Bakers.
29. Candlestick makers.
30. Criminal attorneys.
31. Airline employees.
32. Cruise ship employees.
33. Civil attorneys.
34. Judges.
35. Worm and Slug farmers.
36. Politicians. These last three were close.
4 comments:
Rumpole. Shame on you.
Teachers should be up there on the list.
Cap Out .....
To see that idiot Marco Rubio getting a vaccine after not wearing a mask, having all kinds of rallies.... makes me want to throw up.
Come'on now most politicians lost their common sense years ago. Thanks SAO5
The roll-out of the covid-19 vaccination has been fiasco and failure. 20 million Americans were supposed to have been vaccinated by the end of December but it looks like there have been only 3 million while 60 to 80% of vaccines that have been delivered sit on shelves with the possibility that they will not outlive their shelf life.
Confusion, lack of funds, and mutual blame accompany this pathetic display of incompetence. Some jurisdictions have entertained a "first come first served approach" leading to the predictable stampede of thousands waiting on lines overnight only to be turned away.
That the public is confused almost three weeks into the rollout as to where to go and how to sign up for the vaccine stands as testimony to the massive level of communication failure.
Any MBA student has studied courses like "Production Operations Management" which deal with logistics and the methods and techniques available to coordinate many moving parts where one task is dependent upon another and success requires the interaction of many codependent parts. Such techniques can be found in mathematical modelling, linear programming, Waiting Line Theory, and GANNT charting. Such techniques are utilized in, for example, manufacturing of the iPhone or Tesla. Have any of these techniques been used in the vaccination rollout?
No doubt planning must have occured but the result suggests it has been in a slipshod fashion. Has this planning been monopolized by moribund governmental bureaucracy or have skilled consultants from industry and academia been tapped for their invaluable knowledge in complex logistical problems?
While it is easy to criticize, as I am doing, there are no doubt many unsung heros who are diligently working tirelessly to achieve the desired end. But individual effort by praiseworthy individuals cannot replace sophisticated planning.
The results though are lackluster. Israel has already innoculated 7% of its population while we have achieved less than 1%. As we lawyers say Res Ipsur Loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) and it's not pretty.
The coming few weeks will reveal the extent to which we are learning from errors made.
God Bless to all in this new year as we enter into 2021 with a rejuvenated sense of afflatus. Be well all!
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