San Jose.- If American governments resist vaccinating coronavirus to the millions of irregular migrants who live and mobilize in the Western Hemisphere, America will lose the war against Covid-19, Warned the Macedonian Alexandre Arnikov, Physician specializing in public health and epidemiology of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
As an IOM health and migration specialist for the Americas, Arnikov called it “unacceptable” to exclude irregular migrants from the inoculation, or the 12 million who are in United States or the 6 million Venezuelans and thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Central Americans, Africans and Asians who live or roam the borders and urban and rural areas of Mexico, and the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean.
If a country refuses to apply the drug to foreigners, for the simple fact of not having a document that shows their normal migration, the victims will be the citizens and other people of this nation who will be exposed to they can infect, he explained in an interview with THE UNIVERSAL.
What is the danger of refraining from vaccinating irregular migrants?
-The risk does not come because they are irregular, it comes because there is a dangerous option if all migrants are not included in immunization campaigns. This is the most serious danger. It is unacceptable that those most affected are always those who are in an irregular situation, in conflict, in poverty, displaced by natural disasters or conflicts. All of these groups need to have equitable access to the immunization service.
Before the disease, migrants were more vulnerable due to language, cultural, political or social barriers that made it difficult for them to access health care and now became older, due to xenophobia, stigmatization and exclusion. Many migrant workers lost money and were left in a difficult situation.
Colombia decided this month to vaccinate one million 800 thousand Venezuelans who have already migrated to this country and who will enter in the next two years. What does this message represent for other migrant-receiving nations regardless of nationality?
-It is an excellent initiative to respond [a la crisis sanitaria]. It is a great example that other countries can take into account. It is very important to include all groups of migrants in vaccination campaigns. If governments make such decisions to include migrants [en la vacunación], Will be a step forward to regularize its general status. We need to understand that we are all in this situation, without exception.
Yes, no one can come down from the world …
-[Ríe] Of course, all without exception. That is why we need to have inclusive vaccination campaigns considering all categories and, especially, the most vulnerable.
If we are not all included, this pandemic will stay with us much longer than we want.
This is a very critical moment: we need to wake up and accept that migration is a daily process, that it is with us from the beginning and will be forever.
And how to fund vaccination for irregular migrants in countries like those in Latin America and the Caribbean in economic turmoil?
-That’s why we have the Global Access Fund for Covid-19 Vaccines [COVAX, por sus siglas en inglés], A public-private international alliance to have a more equitable distribution and access of vaccines. With the COVAX initiative, many countries have started vaccination. We have no other solutions, but we need to look for them.
Can there be a negative reaction when nationals of a country see migrants being vaccinated before many of their compatriots?
-If we do not include everyone in vaccination, we will lose the battle against the pandemic. That is for sure. There must be clear and key messages from governments to exclude xenophobia, stigmatization of migrants, and for the community to understand the need to incorporate everyone.
The reality is that health is a right.
-It is everyone’s right. It does not matter if we are in a regular or irregular situation: we all have the right to health, to life. It is one of the fundamental rights and we cannot change it. We need to remind governments that this epidemic is an extraordinary thing and the importance of the right to health is one of the few fundamental rights we all have. We are all equal before this right, whether migrants, refugees, deprived of liberty, displaced. If we are not all vaccinated, we will lose the battle and have the virus for a much longer time than we want.
Illegal migrants in the United States may fear that if they are going to be vaccinated, they may be arrested and deported. Is it a real risk?
-It’s real. Many are afraid and not just for vaccination, but for access to health care, which may be limited by this fear. It’s a real fear. Not all countries are in favor of migrants.