The European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC) issues today a new report which presents the latest evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on migrant populations in Europe.
According to the evidence provided, some migrant groups are disproportionately represented in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, as well as in vaccination rates, compared with host populations.
Among migrants that are disproportionally represented in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths, factors that increase their risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 include occupational risk, overcrowded accommodation, and lower levels of accessibility to public health services, including public health messaging.
The report also discusses the emerging evidence of low COVID-19 vaccination rates among migrants, often due to greater hesitancy, misinformation and problems accessing health care.
The findings of this report are of immediate relevance to national and international public health responses to the pandemic and should inform policymaking strategies for reducing transmission of COVID-19, as well as ensuring equitable vaccine uptake.
The report recommends that strategies should include:
- Targeted public health messaging that is co-produced with affected communities, with information and messaging translated into key migrant languages and effectively disseminated.
- Innovative policy options that can support at-risk migrant groups to minimise transmission and gain better access to health services and vaccination.
- Ensuring reception and detention centres follow COVID-19 distancing and hygiene guidelines, while providing free and equitable prevention, treatment and care to migrants in these settings.
- Ensuring equitable access for migrants to COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring equitable uptake, particularly in migrants who face barriers to, or are excluded from, health and vaccination systems.
- Building trust with migrant communities around the vaccine, countering misinformation with robust and accurate information, and identifying innovative access points for the vaccine for migrants not registered with mainstream health systems.
- Strengthening collaborations with local government, relevant charities and community groups, civil society groups, social care services, public health teams and healthcare professionals to develop engagement strategies with migrant communities.
The EU/EEA has a total population of 453 million. Migrants, here defined as people born in a different country than the one they reside, made up 12% of this population in 2020, with 4% being born in another EU/EEA country or the UK and 8% originating from outside the EU/EEA and the UK. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than three million refugees and asylum seekers (pending cases) were registered in the EU/EEA countries and the UK in 2018. In addition, around four million undocumented migrants are estimated to live in Europe.