Press Release: Open letter calls for Nova Scotia to remove barriers to vaccine access for migrants
Halifax, NS (April 8, 2021) - On Tuesday, over 30 organizations, health professionals and academics sent an open letter to the Honourable Zach Churchill, Minister of Health and Wellness calling for improved COVID-19 vaccine access for migrants and people without permanent residence status in Nova Scotia.
The Government of Nova Scotia states the following on its website: “If you’re not a permanent resident of Nova Scotia (you don’t have a Nova Scotia Health Card), you can still receive the vaccine while you’re in Nova Scotia if you’re staying in the province for an extended period.”
“While the decision is laudable in principle, a number of information-related barriers continue to impede the ability of migrant workers with temporary status, refugee claimants, and others with precarious legal status in Nova Scotia to access a COVID-19 vaccine. The Government of Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 website is an important and key resource for many. But inconsistent messaging, coupled with conflicting information from those charged with managing health care access on the ground will discourage migrant workers, refugee claimants, and others deemed “non-resident” from accessing the vaccine,” reads an excerpt from the letter.
The open letter highlights that migrants and people without permanent residence status have been working on “frontlines of care, food production and distribution, and sanitation. And yet, they are particularly at risk for infection and acute illness in a context that affords them little protection and access to health care.”
In particular, the open letter outlines six recommendations for improving vaccine access for migrants and people without permanent residence status in the province. The open letter also calls for “equitable access to healthcare for all migrants regardless of their immigration status.”
Organizational signatories to the letter include the Halifax Refugee Clinic, No one is illegal - Halifax/Kjipuktuk, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS), Immigrant Migrant Women’s Association of Halifax, Wellness Within: An Organization for Health & Justice, Nova Scotia College of Social Workers and CUPE Nova Scotia.
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Media Contacts
Catherine Bryan, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Dalhousie University
catherine.bryan@dal.ca
Stacey Gomez
No One Is Illegal - Halifax/Kjipuktuk
