THERE has never been a dilemma posed deeper than the one by the ongoing pandemic. We try to hold a higher moral ground than the others. The pandemic, however, has thrown a challenge to almost everyone. The question is of equality and dignity, and deciding for someone else the same relief that one would like himself to be a beneficiary of.

To clarify the situation, consider the treatment of Covid-19 infection. The way the allocation of resources is carried out exposes the ethical and moral fabric of society. At present, in Pakistan we have meagre facilities for coronavirus patients. Being infected with the virus does not ensure treatment.

You have to be a highly influential person, a celebrity or a politician to get into a treatment facility. Without naming any philanthropic organisation, public or private institution, the web of influence entangles everyone.

Getting a hospital bed for a common person is next to impossible. The death rate perhaps reflects the same situation. As the disease affects both, the rich might pass away in, and the poor out of, a hospital.

Now on the flip side, who will get the vaccine first? And when? In the absence of any stated government policy, it is feared that we might experience the same gloom. The rich and influential will get it for themselves and their associates. The poor and destitute will keep on suffering.

Dr Asad Shahzad Hasan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2021