The COVID-19 pandemic has raised suspicions of ageism and gerontophobia in various health rationing practices Age is a controversial triage criterion This article clarifies the ethical relevance of age within triage systems, particularly its role within the principles of fairness and efficiency Fairness requires giving more opportunities to those who have completed fewer life cycles Efficiency takes age into account surreptitiously when trying to maximize short-term (saving lives) and long-term (saving years of life) benefits Finally, age should not be the final rationale in triage decisions, although it is a variable to be taken into account because of its implicit presence in fundamental principles of prioritization © 2020 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and Universitat de Girona All rights reserved
No country for old men?: Age as a triage criterion during the COVID-19 pandemic