Opportunities and Perils of Public Consultation in the Creation of COVID-19 Vaccine Priority Groups

Abstract

AbstractThe management of any Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), such as COVID-19, requires several strategies: public health surveillance and active testing of suspected cases, isolating those with the disease as well as their contacts, providing risk communication messaging for actions that people can adopt to protect themselves and their families, and distribution of available vaccines once approved. Anticipating scarcity in supply, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, tasked with providing independent advice and recommendations on immunizations for the Public Health Agency of Canada, developed preliminary recommendations for prioritization of COVID-19 vaccines before any vaccines were even authorized for distribution in Canada. We explore in this chapter the mechanisms used to establish preliminary recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine priority groups, including different strategies for public and stakeholder engagement in those recommendations, and how three provinces made operational decisions to implement vaccine delivery within their jurisdiction. We highlight specific opportunities and challenges when the general public is engaged in evaluating prioritization recommendations, particularly when those who are consulted may not necessarily reflect the population diversity underlying equity considerations. We share public comments about COVID-19 vaccine priority groups from age-stratified (18–34 years; 35–54 years; 55 years and older) mixed-gender focus groups in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Ottawa, conducted in December 2020.