The recommendations made and criteria chosen by the FLMS were introduced with all necessary transparency so as to facilitate their acceptance amongst physicians and the general public. The criteria emphasise the need to protect the most vulnerable patients from the risk of discrimination and arbitrary decisions. Criteria commonly used for decisions related to ICU admission include frailty, presence of co-morbidities, prior level of personal autonomy, nutritional status and cognition; patient age is included amongst these factors as well as the severity of the disease assessed by the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score. It is critical to recognise that no specific criteria were defined. This was a deliberate decision; ICU admissions ultimately depend on the ability to adapt to circumstances within given situations and contexts; amongst the latter issues, much depends on the availability of critical care beds, resuscitation equipment and the requisite scientific and medical knowledge required for appropriate care and treatment of this disease. Likewise, no age threshold been defined beyond which access to ICU care would be denied, save for statements included in the joint recommendation of the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation) and the French Military Health Service (Service de santé des armées; SSA) [4]. However, consideration of patient age as a sole criterion does not seem to be acceptable; the consideration of any single criterion considered in isolation would not be appropriate in these circumstances. It would appear that a discussion of all relevant criteria should be carried out without reference to any specific hierarchy; several helpful decision-making tools have been proposed by the SFAR [4], [5].