Saturday

25th Mar 2023

Prisoners, homeless, migrants, 'overlooked' in EU vaccine race

  • Only a third of EU countries consider prisoners as a priority group - despite an increased risk of infection due to crowded living conditions (Photo: Jumilla)

More than 300 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administrated in the EU, but vulnerable groups, such as prisoners, homeless people and migrants, are at risk to be left behind, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) has warned.

In a report, published on Wednesday (16 June), the report revealed the difficulties people in vulnerable situations face accessing vaccines - from language barriers to limitations tied to residence or legal status.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Recommendations by international and EU health authorities highlighted the importance of including in vaccination plans communities unable to retain physical distance, and vulnerable socioeconomic groups alongside the elderly, people with underlying health conditions and key workers.

However, member states have not always followed this guidance, particularly during the first phase of the vaccination rollout, the report found.

In all EU countries, bar Slovakia, Poland and Estonia, people with disabilities have been included among priority groups - albeit to different extents.

By contrast, the report shows that no member state included Roma and Travellers, as persons belonging to ethnic or national minorities, in the priority groups. The Slovak national vaccination plan initially included a provision, that was removed shortly after.

Meanwhile, only one-third of EU countries consider prisoners as a priority group - despite an obvious increased risk of infection due to crowded indoor living conditions.

These comprise Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal and Romania. Spain and Luxembourg, for example, have recommended the vaccination of people deprived of their liberty, without specifying them as priority groups.

Similarly, only seven member states included homeless people in the priority groups of their national vaccination strategies.

Austria, Germany and Hungary ranked homeless people in shelters as a high-priority group from the first versions of their national vaccination strategies, while Portugal and Romania considered homeless people (not limited to people in shelters) a priority group in amendments to their plans.

By contrast, Slovakia and Sweden removed homeless people as a priority group in amendments to their vaccination strategies.

Similar decisions were taken regarding undocumented people, refugees and asylum-seekers.

Migrants 'disproportionately represented'

Only Austria, Croatia, Cyprus and Germany included persons without legal residence or with insecure status in their priority groups.

Romania added migrants living in centres and all other types of migrants as a priority group, after updating its vaccination strategy in January.

Greece, for its part, has come under fire for not prioritising vaccination of migrants living in 'hotspots' on the Greek islands. The rollout of vaccines in migrant camps only started early in June.

Earlier this month, the European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that some migrant groups are "disproportionately represented" in Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths.

The ECDC also warned about the low vaccination rates among migrants due to hesitancy, misinformation or problems accessing health care.

Prisoners, homeless people, asylum seekers and irregular migrants, who are often not covered by national health schemes, face more challenges accessing vaccines. But some member states have waived formal requirements to ensure access.

Currently, vaccinations are available for everyone regardless of health insurance status in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Meanwhile, the FRA report shows that EU countries rarely provide accessible information in different languages for those who do not speak the national languages, such as migrants.

It adds that favoritism and queue-jumping has also undermined public trust in the vaccination procedures.

The agency has called on EU countries to ensure fair and equal access to vaccines, pointing out that vaccination will protect the social rights of those most in need.

"Unprecedented vaccination mobilisation efforts risk overlooking vulnerable groups," said FRA director Michael O'Flaherty.

"EU countries need to take care no one is left behind by guaranteeing equitable access to vaccines throughout all stages of national campaigns," he added.

Roma 'at heightened risk' from corona crisis

The EU's Agency for Fundamental Rights has warned that Roma inequality and discrimination is growing due to the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, the EU Commission will present a strategy for Roma equality to tackle discrimination.

Opinion

Covid-19 pandemic - why was the ECDC so ineffective?

The Covid-19 crisis has revealed that the current European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has neither the funding, the staff or – perhaps most importantly – the authority to lead an effective response to a pandemic in Europe.

Opinion

Covid-19 in Europe's prisons - and the response

Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Sweden have taken no steps towards reducing the use of imprisonment and others, like Greece, appear to be waiting for Covid-19 to spread through prisons before acting.

Opinion

Use the summer to prepare for a safe return to school

If we are to prevent the pandemic from having a life-long impact on an entire generation of children and young people - especially the most marginalised - we must ensure that schools reopen and stay open safely.

EU hits vaccination target, as Delta variant now dominates

The European Union has vaccinated 70 percent of its adult population with one shot. "The EU has kept its word and delivered," said EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. However, only 57 percent of adult Europeans are fully-vaccinated.

Polish abortion rights activist vows to appeal case

Polish abortion rights activists Justyna Wydrzyńska was last week sentenced for giving abortion pills to a 12-week pregnant woman. She will appeal. But with a court stacked by politically-appointed judges, her chances of overturning it are slim.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

Latest News

  1. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict
  2. Okay, alright, AI might be useful after all
  3. Von der Leyen pledges to help return Ukrainian children
  4. EU leaders agree 1m artillery shells for Ukraine
  5. Polish abortion rights activist vows to appeal case
  6. How German business interests have shaped EU climate agenda
  7. The EU-Turkey migration deal is dead on arrival at this summit
  8. Sweden worried by EU visa-free deal with Venezuela

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us