Italian vaccinated migrants cannot get the Covid pass

0

[ad_1]

The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent policies implemented by the Italian government have highlighted the perilous situation of undocumented migrants in Italy.

Without a residence permit, and therefore not registered in the national health system, many refugees, asylum seekers and migrants found themselves unable to seek medical assistance in the midst of a health crisis.

The final stumbling block is the Italian green pass – a vaccination certificate needed to access everything from public transport to restaurants – which migrants, although inoculated, cannot access because they do not have a national health card.

As labor shortages amid the Covid emergency began to affect food supply chains, many European countries saw the importance of regularizing undocumented migrants. Italy has been particularly quick to take measures in favor of the “invisible”, foreigners without a residence permit and often working illegally in sectors such as agriculture and domestic work.

However, the regularization program, launched in May 2020, quickly found itself to have many flaws, including a limited selection of eligible sectors, significant delays and excessive bureaucracy.

Open democracy reported last week only this 12.7 percent of requests have been processed so far, and only five percent of them have resulted in the issuance of a residence permit. Those still waiting remain vulnerable, without access to health care and, until recently, vaccines against the coronavirus.

Despite assurances from the Italian government that all people, regardless of their legal status, have access to vaccination, in practice this has not been the case.

In order to reserve a vaccination slot, most regional reservation systems require a code from the Italian national health cards, which are issued to people with a residence permit.

Instead, migrants are issued with a “Temporary Present Foreigner†(STP) code in order to facilitate access to health services, but the The New York Times reported in June that only three regions accepted it for jab bookings.

The situation means that migrants themselves remain in danger, as does society at large, especially as many undocumented foreigners work as caregivers for the elderly.

After charity appeals and migrant rights groups, the rollout of vaccination for migrants began to accelerate over the summer.

But just as quickly, another hurdle presented itself. In Italy, those who have received at least their first dose of vaccine can access and download a “green pass” which serves as proof of vaccination (or proof of a negative Covid-19 test carried out within the previous 48 hours).

The government now requires the green pass to access many services, including indoor restaurants, cinemas, museums and sports facilities. The green pass is also compulsory to access long-distance public transport and schools (excluding students).

But to download the green pass, the national online health system requires users to enter their national health card code (or use a document such as a passport or identity card or tax code) .

As such, migrants can be vaccinated, but they are unable to prove it and therefore remain excluded from many services they should be allowed to access.

Many have expressed their anger at what is considered a discriminatory situation. The Milan branch of the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions criticized the difficulties faced by foreigners in the Lombardy region, while the Castel Volturno solidarity network urged the Campania region to address the shortcomings of the system.

“For three weeks, our operators have been helping hundreds of foreign citizens without a residence permit to download the green pass once the vaccination cycle is over,” said the network dedicated to helping foreigners in the country.

Migrant rights activist Aboubakar Soumahoro called it another example of Italy’s “hierarchy of rights” that penalizes migrants. “The green pass cannot be another opportunity to keep discrimination afloat”, he said. said in a Twitter video. “Here is my call: to issue a residence permit during health emergencies to anyone forced to live in an invisible way to allow them to have a doctor, to be visible.”


[ad_2]

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.