The hostile environment for migrants means many people living in the UK with unofficial or uncertain status will be unlikely to take up coronavirus vaccinations, despite a government push for this to happen, charities have warned.
With estimates of up to 1.2 million people living in the UK without official documentation, this reluctance could make a significant dent in vaccination totals.
On Monday, the government said it was urging charities and other groups to make contact with people worried about their immigration status who are not registered with a GP to urge them to seek a vaccination. People were also reassured that if they do seek a vaccination there will be no checks on their right to live in the country, and there will not be any fee.
However, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) said its research showed 43% of migrants would be fearful of seeking healthcare for fear of having their status tested, or being charged. Of those with refugee status, 56% would be wary of accessing healthcare because of fears about data-sharing between the NHS and Home Office, rising to 81% for those with no official status.
Chai Patel, the legal policy director of the JCWI, said that while it was already the law that people without formal immigration status could register with a GP, this was complicated by factors including administrative barriers put up by some GPs, and uncertainty about what data might be shared with the Home Office.
“In law it’s fairly simple: everyone is entitled to register with a GP, and anyone who is registered with a GP can get a vaccination,” he said. “But we’ve also had almost a decade now of migrants being told to be scared as part of a conscious public campaign by the government. That deterrent effect cannot just be solved by a press release saying: ‘This time we want you to come in.’”
Separately, more than 100 charities representing migrants, as well as councils and other organisations, issued a joint call for the hostile environment – now officially called the “compliant environment” – to end, so people can access the vaccine.
Anna Miller from Doctors of the World UK said that the policy of charging people without formal immigration status for healthcare “has done great damage to the relationship between migrant communities and the NHS, creating a situation where patients don’t trust nurses and doctors and avoid healthcare services”.
Pfizer/BioNTech
Country US/Germany
Efficacy 95% a week after the second shot. Pfizer says it is only 52% after the first dose but the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says this may rise to 90% after 21 days.
The UK has ordered 40m doses and is rolling them out now
Doses Clinical trials involved two doses 21 days apart. The UK is stretching this to 12 weeks.
Oxford/AstraZeneca
Country UK
Efficacy 70.4% 14 days after receiving the second dose. May have up to 90% efficacy when given as a half dose followed by a full dose. No severe disease or hospitalisations in anyone who received the vaccine. There have been concerns it is less effective against the South African variant of the coronavirus.
The UK has ordered 100m doses and has begun distribution
Doses Two, four to 12 weeks apart
Moderna
Country US
Efficacy Phase 3 trial results suggest an rating of 94.1%.
The UK has ordered 17m doses, to be delivered in March or April
Doses Two, 28 days apart
Novavax
Country US
Efficacy Phase 3 trials suggest 89.3%.
60m doses ordered by the UK, with distribution expected principally in the second half of the year
Doses Two
Janssen (part of Johnson & Johnson)
Country US
Efficacy 72% in preventing mild to moderate cases in US trials but 66% efficacy observed in international trials. 85% efficacy against severe illness, and 100% protection against hospitalisation and death.
30m doses ordered by the UK
Doses: One, making it unique among Covid vaccines with phase 3 results so far
Bella Sankey, the director of the charity Detention Action, said: “It is essential for all our health that everyone is able to access vaccines easily and without fear of punishment. But this will only work if the Home Office immediately legislates to end all data sharing with doctors, hospitals and healthcare providers. Without this guarantee, mistrust will prevent vaccine uptake, which will harm us all.”
There are no up-to-date figures on the number of people living in the UK without official permission. The last Home Office estimate, made in 2005, suggested there were about 430,000 people in the country with no right to remain. One independent study from 2019 estimated that the number could now total between 800,000 and 1.2 million.
Migrants without official status will be vaccinated in the same order as others in the UK, dependent on their age or medical status. Phase 1 of the programme, which covers offering first injections to the top nine groups seen as most vulnerable to coronavirus, up to all adults aged 50 or older, is scheduled to be completed by May.
The government’s joint committee on vaccination and immunisation has published a list of groups of people who will be prioritised to receive a vaccine for Covid-19 in the UK. The list is:
1 All those 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers.
2 All those 75 and over.
3 All those 70 and over.
4 All those 65 and over.
5 Adults under 65 at high at risk of serious disease and mortality from Covid-19.
6 Adults under 65 at moderate risk of at risk of serious disease and mortality from Covid-19.
7 All those 60 and over.
8 All those 55 and over.
9 All those 50 and over.
10 Rest of the population.
The hope is that all those over 18 will be offered at least a first vaccination injection by the autumn.
Asked about the concerns of charities, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “It’s important that everybody comes forward to take a vaccine in order that we can successfully tackle the virus in all communities throughout the UK. We’ve been clear that it won’t be linked to any form of immigration status.”
A government spokeswoman said: “Coronavirus vaccines will be offered to everyone living in the UK free of charge, regardless of immigration status.
“Those registered with a GP are being contacted at the earliest opportunity and we are working closely with partners and external organisations to contact those who are not registered with a GP to ensure they are also offered the vaccine.”
