Leave no one behind: ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugee and displaced populations

This paper calls for a coordinated, comprehensive and global approach to vaccine access

Abstract

The rising toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have underscored the urgency of a rapid, equitable and inclusive rollout of vaccines against COVID-19. However, as the world grapples with supply challenges and inequitable vaccine access on local and global scales, marginalized groups, particularly refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons, will face a double burden of access, even within countries that are themselves marginalized on the global stage.

This paper calls for a coordinated, comprehensive and global approach to vaccine access – science and need, not wealth, nationality or legal status, should guide vaccine allocation and prioritisation.

This research was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme

Citation

Zard, M., Lau, L.S., Bowser, D.M. et al. Leave no one behind: ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugee and displaced populations. Nat Med 27, 747–749 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01328-3

Leave no one behind: ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugee and displaced populations

Updates to this page

Published 19 April 2021