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"If Covid vaccine refusers are turned away at hospitals and doctor offices, is that ethical?"

NBC News THINK

Taking vaccination status into account when deciding whether to treat a patient can be acceptable — sometimes.

Dr. Jason Valentine, a family medicine physician at the Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health in Mobile, Alabama, informed his patients this month that, effective Oct. 1, he would no longer treat those who hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19. Around the same time, a leaked memo indicated that the North Texas Mass Critical Care Guideline Task Force was considering whether to take Covid vaccination status into account in deciding who gets ICU beds when more of them are needed than are available.

Can either of these actions be considered ethical? In short, it depends.