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Comment by ryan_j_naughton | Hacker News Reader

Given that rationing care is inevitable, it's time to start prioritizing vaccinated individuals, those unable to get vaccinated, and non-COVID patients when doing triage and allocating ICU beds.

If individuals refuse to get vaccinated, they are increasing the chances that if I get into a car accident I don't get care.

This is literally the definition of a negative externality, and it's very easy to internalize this externality: triage prioritization.

My intent is not to punish these individuals or to make this a moral issue / blame them. It is simply to recognize the cost their choices have on others and to make them bear the cost of their actions we opposed to it being thrust on others.

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Completely correct. An adult should assume the responsibility of their own actions.

Nobody wants anyone to die here, but if something is preventable and you don't make the effort, then don't expect the rest of society to bend over backwards.

The poor decisions people make in every other portion of their lives in overlooked for social services. Why start here?

Because the intent behind refusing to treat anti-vaxxers isn’t meant to be punitive, it’s meant to prevent the collapse of the healthcare system.

You have a valid point but were down voted because people here expect to read a socially acceptable comment.

I agree, as a society we need to grow up a bit and be more responsible towards each other.

And if you were driving even 1 mph over the speed limit when you got into that car accident then the hospital should kick you out of the ICU, right? After all it's your own fault for engaging in risky behavior. Then next we can kick out any HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C patients who were infected through unprotected sex or sharing needles. Etc.

Due to the EMTALA hospitals with emergency rooms are legally required to treat all patients at least until they are stabilized. So hospitals that discriminate based on vaccination status would be exposing themselves to significant liability. Adding an exception would require an act of Congress.

Also consider that there is no 100% reliable way to verify vaccination status. Most states have an immunization registry but those have time delays and data quality problems. And people do still move around between states and countries.

But I do encourage everyone to get vaccinated if they can.

He said prioritize not deny care. This is something hospitals and medical workers have always done.

Have you looked at rates of vaccination, infection, hospitalization and death, and vaccine hesitancy by race or ethnic background? If not, do you stand by this comment after you have looked at some of that data?

As someone who doesn't want to take the vaccine: I would prefer this. Let us make the decision and deal with the consequences.

Your right not to get vaccinated stops at my right not to get infected by idiots^Wpeople like you. Get off your high horse and get vaxxed now. If you can't stay away from people

I almost never go outside. Also, the vaccines are pretty ineffective against the new variants anyway.

I followed all the rules for a year and it looks like 1 it really didn't help much and 2 the virus isn't nearly as deadly as people thought. This isn't fucking polio, it's a bad cold.

I fully support vaccination, but you have no legal right to be protected from infection. It appears nowhere in the US Constitution. And while the vaccines are very effective at preventing death they are only marginally effective at preventing contagion.

The reality is that SARS-CoV-2 is now endemic in the worldwide human population. So you're almost certainly going to get infected eventually regardless of what others do.

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