A social group that is not immediately taken into account when thinking about this problem is that of migrants and refugees.
The position of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is based on a fundamental principle: Access to health services must be guaranteed for all migrants regardless of their legal status.
This is what the director general of the Organization, António Vitorino, tells us, who in an interview for UN News clears the questions about what the agency's recommendations are for this group within the vaccination plans of the countries.
“Countries have to provide for the vaccination of all those present in their territory, including migrants, regardless of their legal status. It is not about creating a priority for migrants. Upside down, It is about applying to migrants the same criteria that apply to national citizens. In other words, those who are more vulnerable due to age or health reasons ”, he explained.
A human right and a benefit for all
Vitorino recalled that health is a human right and that It is also in the interest of the host community that all the people present in their territory are healthy, safe and essential health care provided. "We must also guarantee access to the vaccine for migrants," said the head of this UN agency.
However, and given the distrust of migrants to access these services in the event of a possible detention or deportation, he explained that governments have to give the necessary guarantees that access to health care does not imply the application of immigration laws.
Vitorino's message to the skepticism that migrants and refugees might have about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 was that “at this moment in the face of such a destructive virus, there is enough scientific and medical evidence that allows us to say that the available vaccines are safe vaccines and that is why I would support and encourage migrants and displaced people to be vaccinated, "he said.