You can take action to end barriers in vaccine access for all migrants.

Please send an email and make a call to NS Minister of Health and Wellness Zach Chuchill.

We made it easy for you with a script! 

-------------------------------------------------

Contact NS Health Minister Zach Churchill

Health.Minister@novascotia.ca | (902) 424-5818

Email Script: 

Dear Mr. Churchill,

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am reaching out to you today to express my concerns regarding barriers in Nova Scotia’s vaccine rollout that are making it inaccessible to many migrant community members. These barriers reflect ongoing and pervasive gaps in health care access to migrants, including people without migration status, refugee claimants, international students and migrant workers. 

Many migrant community members are being systematically excluded from the NS vaccine rollout. For example, migrants have been the last to be able to book vaccines because they need to book their vaccine through the phone line, rather than being able to book online like the rest of the population. There have been long wait times on the phone line and once migrants get through, all the appointments in their area are sometimes already booked up. Moreover, in the current roll out, migrant workers are often forced to rely on their employers to book the vaccine and arrange transportation, which can increase the risk of coercion and reprisals. 

Additional barriers include: the need to provide mandatory documentation that includes home address, no culturally-relevant vaccine education, poor communication of policies with front line staff making the appointments and so on. Migrant workers face specific challenges, which have been outlined in a letter penned by the Migrant Worker Rights Working Group.

These barriers are not inevitable nor justifiable, and must be addressed immediately to leave no one behind. In response, along with many others I am asking that you take action to make vaccines accessible for all migrant community members in NS, so that all members of our communities have access to the vaccine if they wish. This includes: 

• Accessible vaccine sites, including mobile clinics for migrant workers and a clinic at the Newcomer Clinic in Halifax open to all migrants 

• A guarantee that there will be no sharing of personal information with immigration officials

• Time off without loss of pay for community members to obtain vaccine

• Accessible vaccine booking for migrants, including opening the online bookings system to people without NS health cards

• Commitment to ensuring that migrant workers who want the vaccine can access 2 doses before returning to country of origin

• Protection from employer coercion and reprisals for those who decide not to get the vaccine

• Educational information that is culturally and linguistically relevant

As we recover from COVID-19, we need a vaccine plan that is safe, accessible, and just that leaves no one behind. Will you take the necessary action to make that happen?

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Phone Script: 

Hello! My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am reaching out to you today to express my concerns regarding barriers in Nova Scotia’s vaccine rollout that are making it inaccessible to many migrant community members. These barriers reflect ongoing and pervasive gaps in health care access to migrants, including people without migration status, refugee claimants, international students and migrant workers.

I am asking that you take action to make vaccines accessible for all migrant community members in NS, so that all members of our communities have access to the vaccine if they wish. This includes: 

• Accessible vaccine sites, including mobile clinics for migrant workers and a clinic at the Newcomer Clinic in Halifax

• A guarantee that there will be no sharing of personal information with government, such as  immigration officials

• Time off without loss of pay for community members to obtain vaccine

• Accessible vaccine booking for migrants, including opening the online bookings system to people without NS health cards

• Commitment to ensuring that migrant workers who want the vaccine can access 2 doses before returning to country of origin

• Protection from employer coercion and reprisals for those who do not obtain vaccine

• Educational information that is culturally and linguistically relevant

As we recover from COVID-19, we need a vaccine plan that is safe, accessible, and just that leaves no one behind. Thank you for listening.