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The Dallas Morning News got an internal rating from a group of doctors in North Texas.
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He said COVID-19 vaccination status could be taken into account when allocating intensive care beds in the event of a crisis.
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A group leader returned to the memo, saying immunization status would not be a triage factor.
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A group of North Texas doctors said in an email to members this week that immunization status could be taken into account in determining which COVID-19 patients would get intensive care unit beds if the area experiences another crisis.
The memo from the North Texas Mass Critical Guidelines Task Force was leaked to the Dallas Morning News, which released details on Thursday.
The memo boiled down to this: Since vaccination dramatically improves a person’s chances of surviving COVID-19, a patient’s immunization status can be seen as a benefit or a strike when it does. it’s about determining if he gets an intensive care bed, although that might not be the only factor.
The guidelines were designed for a level 3 crisis phase, which Dr Robert Fine, co-chair of the task force, told the Dallas Morning News could happen in two weeks. The task force’s guidelines are not binding but are generally followed, the newspaper said.
Shortly after the article was published by the Dallas Morning News, a spokesperson for the task force returned to the memo.
Dr Mark Casanova, director of clinical ethics at Baylor University Medical Center, told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth on Thursday that the note was intended to help doctors triage patients in limited situations.
Hours later, he told NBC the memo was just a “homework assignment” to which members could respond with their own suggestions.
He said that in the future, immunization status would not be one of the factors hospitals would be asked to consider when triage of patients.
“In the midst of this meeting, exploration and discussions with various members of the triage committee, the consensus is that vaccination status, or more specifically lack of vaccine will not be considered as part of the exclusion criteria. for the treatment of patients, “he said at the exit.
Dr Harald Schmidt, professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Dallas Morning News that he found the note problematic, especially given its implications for disadvantaged groups.
The memo said special considerations should be taken for a patient who is not vaccinated for reasons “beyond the patient’s control,” but Schmidt said the language ignored reasons why certain historically or economically disadvantaged groups would not be. not vaccinated.
He said these included not being able to afford vaccination appointments and being wary of medical authorities as a person of color.
“This policy claims it focuses only on objective medical knowledge, but it ignores societal injustices,” Schmidt told the newspaper. “In such cruel clarity, COVID-19 has exposed the consequences of the structural inequalities that we have had for so long. That is why it is essential that we do not add to this, and in this case, we risk it.”
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