When triaging patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) based on non-medical considerations, public opinion should be considered to create a situation of co-ownership.

The public deemed individual responsibility as important for priority setting even though medical professionals consider this unethical and impractical.

This pilot study provides valuable information on the trade-offs necessary for ICU priority setting, which can support future research on this ethically complex topic.