Table I.

Application of ethical principles of resource allocation in the COVID-19 pandemic^∗

Ethical principle	Application to COVID-19
Maximize benefits	Saving the most lives/life-years is the highest priority.
Treat people equally	Random selection can be used for selecting among patients with comparable prognoses.
Promote and reward social value	Health care workers should be prioritized. With other factors equal, give priority to COVID-19 research participants.
Give priority to worst off	Give priority to sickest and youngest of population if it aligns with maximizing benefits (eg, saving most years of life or preventing further spread of virus).

^∗Adapted from Emanuel et al.³