EUROPE: In some countries, undocumented immigrants have been left out of vaccination efforts.

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EUROPE: In some countries, undocumented immigrants have been left out of vaccination efforts.

Mon, 2021-07-12 10:57 — mike kraft

Europe is racing to vaccinate residents. But in some countries, undocumented immigrants have been left out. A patchwork of policies across the continent and a history of discrimination are preventing many undocumented immigrants from receiving coronavirus vaccines, public health and advocacy groups say. Claire Parker Washington Post

As Europe races to vaccinate its residents against covid-19 and outpace the highly infectious delta variant, efforts to inoculate the continent face a major gap: undocumented immigrants.

An estimated 4.8 million unauthorized immigrants lived in 32 European countries as of 2017, according to the Pew Research Center. Studies show they are more vulnerable to the coronavirus than European populations at large. But many countries have excluded them from vaccination drives in policy or in practice — and deep distrust among some immigrant populations toward authorities has caused complications for more inclusive campaigns.

Around 64 percent of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine and roughly 44 percent are fully vaccinated across European countries surveyed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). But the delta variant sweeping the continent has heightened urgency to vaccinate the rest.

Coronavirus cases rise in Europe for first time in 10 weeks as delta variant spreads

Undocumented immigrants in the United States are eligible to get vaccinated, and the federal government has said it will not conduct immigration enforcement operations around vaccine sites.

In March, the E.U. published guidance calling for member states to include all immigrants in coronavirus vaccination programs, regardless of their legal status.

Still, vaccination policies and procedures vary widely across Europe, and an ECDC report last month found that low vaccination rates persist among some immigrant groups.

“The public health imperative [to vaccinate immigrants] is one that still has legs. But it’s an invisibility issue in some countries,” said Alyna Smith, an advocacy officer at the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM).

The struggle to vaccinate this “invisible” population has underscored existing health-care disparities. Public health experts say it may put a wrench in plans to return to normal life on a continent itching to shed coronavirus restrictions. ...

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