Vaccine xenophobia against immigrants and refugees must end

For millions of refugees and asylum seekers around the world, death may seem more merciful than what they have to endure before, during, and after migration, especially during a pandemic that has crippled even the strongest of countries.

When we talk about health equity and disparity, we mostly think about unequal distribution of and access to healthcare services. Many citizens of developed countries generally have access to preventive healthcare screenings. By contrast, refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented immigrants generally have limited or no access to healthcare due to the lack of health insurance, fear of using healthcare benefits that might negatively impact their immigration status, or cultural barriers and discrimination.

Governments have exploited the pandemic to implement restrictive immigration policies. The United States issued blanket entry bans and expelled thousands of asylum seekers and unaccompanied children despite protests from public health leaders to respect humanitarian laws. Moreover, structural racism is happening widely around the world over vaccine access, vaccine branding, and even vaccine manufacturing sites. For example, millions of people from low- and middle-income countries who received vaccines of the same recipe, but which were manufactured outside of the U.K. or Europe, are barred from entering Europe.