An article in the Wall Street Journal in 2020 explained that the amount of remdesivir, the first drug shown to effectively treat Covid–19, was less than the amount needed to treat all patients who were infected with the virus. In the article, a doctor and ethicist at the University of Pittsburgh stated: “We’re in a situation of scarcity and we have to find a fair way to allocate this scarce resource.” Hospitals affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh used a lottery system to decide which patients would be given remdesivir. West Virginia hospitals used a first come, first served (FCFS)
approach to ration remdesivir.

b. Was a lottery system a fairer way than FCFS to allocate remdesivir?

c. What was the opportunity cost of distributing remdesivir to a West Virginia hospital patient in 2020?

d. If hospitals had had enough remdesivir to treat all of the patients who had the Covid–19 virus in 2020, would remdesivir still have been a scarce resource?