Pathway through which COVID-19 exacerbates energy poverty and proposed relief measures.

Increased residential energy consumption and reduced income caused by the lockdown measures invoked to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened energy poverty, particularly in vulnerable communities. In this context, the pathway through which COVID-19 impacts energy poverty is constructed, and six relief measures are proposed: consistent financing of energy suppliers and consumers, developing various forms of socio-economic aids, leveraging fiscal stimuli to promote renewable energy transition, identifying vulnerable populations to improve policy effectiveness, designing equitable resource allocation mechanisms, and rethinking socio-economic transition in the post-pandemic era.

Reserve system design for allocation of scarce medical resources in a pandemic: some perspectives from the field

Reserve systems are a tool to allocate scarce resources when stakeholders do not have a single objective. This paper introduces some basic concepts about reserve systems for pandemic medical resource allocation. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we proposed that reserve systems can help practitioners arrive at compromises between competing stakeholders. More than a dozen states and local jurisdictions adopted reserve systems in initial phases of vaccine distribution. We highlight several design issues arising in some of these implementations. We also offer suggestions about ways practitioners can take advantage of the flexibility offered by reserve systems.

Global COVID-19 vaccine inequality: An overview of critical factors and possible solutions

The effectiveness of the vaccines, as well as global distribution and intervention strategies in order to deal with vaccine hesitancy, remain a challenge in both developing and developed countries. Even though several COVID-19 vaccines are used globally in population-wide vaccination campaigns, it has been difficult to achieve population-wide immunity. This paper examines select factors within and between nations that have hampered the ability to achieve this level of immunity, including inequalities in production and distribution among low-, middle-and high-income countries and suggests some possible solutions or policies to address global vaccine hesitancy and the unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The allocation of COVID-19 vaccines should be based on ethical principles to ensure fair and timely administration. Better health education and communication, as well as planning and equitable vaccine allocation strategies, should be carried out by public health policymakers and stakeholders. A globally coordinated strategy that tackles vaccine inequity may reduce hospitalization and death rates, promote vaccine-induced population-wide immunity, and curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2 before the onset of new SARS-CoV-2 strains that might render ongoing mass vaccination campaigns ineffective. © 2022 by the authors.

COVID-19 vaccination coverage by company size and the effects of workplace vaccination program in Japan: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination is considered the most effective control measure against COVID-19. Vaccine hesitancy and equitable vaccine allocation are important challenges to disseminating developed vaccines. To promote COVID-19 vaccination coverage, the government of Japan established the workplace vaccination program. However, while it appears that the program was effective in overcoming vaccine hesitancy, the program may have hindered the equitable allocation of vaccines because it mainly focused on employees of large companies. We investigated the relationship between company size and COVID-19 vaccination completion status of employees and the impact of the workplace vaccination program on this relationship. METHODS: We conducted an internet-based prospective cohort study from December 2020 (baseline) to December 2021. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey. Briefly, 27,036 workers completed the questionnaire at baseline and 18,560 at follow-up. After excluding ineligible respondents, we finally analyzed the data from 15,829 participants. At baseline, the participants were asked about the size of the company they worked for, and at follow-up they were asked about the month in which they received their second COVID-19 vaccine dose and the availability of a company-arranged vaccination opportunity. RESULTS: In each month throughout the observation period, the odds of having received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose were significantly lower for small-company employees than for large-company employees in the sex- and age-adjusted model. This difference decreased after adjusting for socioeconomic factors, and there was no significant difference after adjusting for the availability of a company-arranged vaccination opportunity. CONCLUSIONS: The workplace vaccination program implemented in Japan to control the COVID-19 pandemic may have been effective in overcoming vaccine hesitancy in workers; however, it may have caused an inequitable allocation of vaccines between companies of different sizes. Because people who worked for small companies were less likely to be vaccinated, it will be necessary to enhance support of vaccination for this population in the event of future infectious disease outbreaks. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.