In order to address the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen public health efforts, the coronavirus vaccine must be safely accessible to everyone, regardless of immigration status, ID or proof of address.
The Government has stated that everyone is able to access the coronavirus vaccine, but in practice, people are being asked for ID, are unable to register with a GP, and are afraid to access services because of longstanding and entrenched barriers to healthcare.
Without further action, the pandemic will continue to have a disproportionate impact on all marginalised groups, including migrant communities, people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, and BME communities.
We therefore call on the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure the vaccine programme works for everyone, and seeks to address the specific barriers faced by these communities in line with calls from the JCVI.
The Department of Health and Social Care must:
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Guarantee a firewall that prevents any patient information gathered by the NHS or Test and Trace being used for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
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End all Hostile Environment measures in the NHS, including charging for migrants, to combat the fear and mistrust these policies have created.
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Provide specific support to all GP surgeries to register everyone, including undocumented and under-documented migrants and those without secure accommodation, and ensure that all other routes to vaccination are accessible to everyone.
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Fund a public information campaign to ensure that communities impacted by the Hostile Environment are aware of their right to access the vaccine and the steps taken above.
372 Organisations have signed the call:
Royal College of Emergency Medicine
Royal College of Midwives
Faculty of Homelessness and Inclusion Health
The Faculty of Public Health
Bristol City Council
Haringey Council
Leicester City Council
Lewisham Council
Newcastle City Council
North Somerset Council
Oxford City Council
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Southwark Council
Beacon House Clinics
Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership
Health and Wellbeing Board of Gateshead Council
Peakedge Primary Care Network Sheffield
Tower Hamlets GP Care Group
Townships Primary Care Network
Medact
Migrants Organise
Asylum Matters
Citizens Advice
Crisis UK
Doctors of the World
Independent Workers Union of Great Britain
Institute of Race Relations
JCWI
Lancet Migration
Liberty
National Aids Trust
New Economics Foundation
Refugee Action
Refugee Council
Shelter
The NRPF Network
Trades Union Congress
We Own It
4 in10 London's Child Poverty Network
ASIRT
ATLEU (Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit)
AVID (Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees)
Action Foundation
Asylum Welcome
Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID)
Big Issue North
Birth Companions
Birthrights
Bloody Good Period
Boaz Trust
British HIV Association (BHIVA)
British Islamic Medical Association
CRIBS International
Care4Calais
Choose Love
City of Sanctuary
Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK (CLAUK)
Communist Party of Britain
Connected Voice
Daikon
Defend Our NHS
Deighton Pierce Glynn
Detention Forum
Disabled People Against Cuts
Disabled People Supporting Migrants
Docs Not Cops
Doctors for Choice UK
Doctors in Unite
Donate4Refugees
Ekklesia
English for Action (EFA) London
Every Doctor
Fairhealth
Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
Freedom From Torture
Freedom United
Glass Door Homeless Charity
Global Justice Now
Hackney Migrant Centre
Health Campaigns Together
Health Professionals for Global Health
Heart & Parcel
HerStory
Homelessness Vaccination Campaign
Humans for Rights Network
Indian Workers' Association of Great Britain
Indoamerican Refugee Migrant Organisation
International Child Health Group
International Observatory Of Human Rights
Island Network
Just Fair
Just Treatment
Kalayaan
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium
Keep Our NHS Public
LGBTIQA+ Greens
Last Rights
Latin American Women's Rights Service
Learn for Life Enterprise
Lesbians & Gays Support the Migrants
London Network of Nurses and Midwives
Love to Learn
Maternity Action
Migrants In Culture
Migrants' Rights Network
Muslim Doctors Association
Muslim Professionals Forum
M�decins Sans Fronti�res UK Take Action Group
NACCOM
NHS Staff Voices
Nanny Solidarity Network
Nurses United UK
PHM UK
Pathway
People & Planet
Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC)
Positive Action For Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS)
Positive Action in Housing
Privacy International
Queens Nursing Institute
RAPAR (Refugee and Asylum Participatory Action Research)
Race & Health
Red Letter Christians UK
Refugee Women Connect
Regularise
Ren� Cassin
Right to Remain
Room to Heal
STAR - Student Action for Refugees
STOPAIDS
Socialist Health Association London
Southall Black Sisters
Spark and Co.
The Helen Bamber Foundation
The Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE)
The Monitoring Group
The Voice of Domestic Workers
Thousand 4 1000
Trust For London
UK Community Advisory Board (UK-CAB) on HIV
UK Must Act
UKLGIG
Ubele
Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC)
Welsh Refugee Council
Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST)
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women's Strike Assembly
Young Roots
Youth for Refugees
Zero Covid Campaign
the3million
Action Together
Angelou Centre
Asylum Link Merseyside
Avon Fire Brigades Union
BRIL (Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living)
Barnet Refugee Service
Bent Bars Project
Best Foot Music
Black Country Stand Up To Racism
Body & Soul
Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition
Bristol City of Sanctuary
Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign
Bristol National Education Union
Bristol Project Mama
Bristol Protect Our NHS
Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL)
Bristol Refugee Festival
Bristol Refugee Rights
Bristol Student Action for Refugees
CWU Bristol & District BAME Committee
Cambridge Welcome
Cannock Chase Stand Up To Racism
Caring In Bristol
Caring and Sharing Rochdale
Caritas Diocese of Middlesbrough
Caritas Shrewsbury
Central Asylum Yorkshire
Chorlton Central Church
Citizens Advice Staffordshire North & Stoke-on-Trent
City of Sanctuary - Birmingham
City of Sanctuary Sheffield
CivicLeicester
Coastal West Sussex Keep Our NHS Public
County of Sanctuary Pembrokeshire
Coventry Against Racism
Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group
De Butterflies CIC
Deep End Scotland
Deep End Yorkshire & Humber
Defend Our NHS Wirral
Displaced People In Action
Doncaster Conversation Club
Ealing Save Our NHS
Ealing Trades Union Council
East London Unite Community
Easton Jamia Mosque
End Deportations Belfast
Ethnic Minorities & Youth Support Team Wales
Fairfield High School
Faiths Together in Lambeth
Fireclay Health
Friends of the Drop In for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (FODI)
Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group
George House Trust
German Speaking Lutheran Church in South and West Wales
German Speaking Lutheran Church in South and West Wales
Gipsy Hill Labour Party
Global Work at Christian Medical Fellowship
Good Chance Theatre
Govan Community Project
Grassroots Black Left
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
Greater Manchester Keep Our NHS Public
Greater Manchester Law Centre
Growing Together Levenshulme
HOST Nottingham
Hackney & Islington Unite the Community Branch