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| People wait in long lines for COVID-19 tests at a separate temporary testing facility for foreign nationals in front of the Geumcheon District Office in Seoul, March 21. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
A coalition of over 40 civic organizations around the issue of human rights for migrants is calling on the government to ensure that all residents of foreign nationality have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, pointing out that they are equal members of society and should not be excluded from the vaccine rollout.
The government announced earlier that individuals of foreign nationality who have lived in Korea for over three months, including undocumented residents, will be vaccinated just like Korean nationals.
However, some residents of foreign nationality are being left out of the vaccination drive, according to a statement released by the coalition on Thursday.
"An undocumented resident over the age of 60 was told that he was eligible for a vaccine by the call center, but was prohibited from making an appointment at a local public health center on June 21," the statement read, pointing out the poor communication between the central and local health authorities.
Expressing concerns that similar incidents may happen again when inoculations expand by age group in the coming weeks, the civic groups urged the government to designate specific personnel to be in charge of ensuring that the dissemination of information is coordinated accurately and appropriately among government offices, call centers, health centers and residents of foreign nationality.
The coalition demanded that the government provide accurate vaccine-related information by expanding translation services. "In the cases of the United States and Australia, vaccine-related information is offered in 60 different languages," they said. They noted that in the U.S., a special taskforce was created, including experts and officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, to ensure the equitable allocation of financial resources, along with culturally appropriate communication and contact with vulnerable groups, during the pandemic.
In addition, the civic groups urged labor authorities to actively implement "vaccination leaves" for workers of foreign nationality to ensure that they can indeed get inoculated when their turn comes up.
"Some foreign workers here only have two Saturdays off a month, making it very difficult for them to take a day off to get the vaccination," read the statement.
They added that residents of foreign nationality have been suffering from multiple discriminatory COVID-19 policies. Residents of foreign nationality have been systematically excluded from the government-sponsored disaster relief stimulus and mask distribution plans. Further, they have been subjected to discriminatory administrative orders forcing them to be tested for COVID-19.
"The government, although it recognizes migrants as a high-risk group for infection, does not even think about how to resolve such issues such as unequal access to information and medical services," the coalition said.
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