Crowdcast: Inequalities in Access to the Covid Vaccine in the UK

London: Bureau of Investigative Journalism: With most people in the UK having now been invited for either their first or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the government is being very vocal about its success in offering millions of people the chance to protect themselves from coronavirus. But not everyone in the UK has had the fortune of benefiting from this largely seamless process.

Many of the estimated one million undocumented migrants in the UK who want to get the Covid vaccination are being incorrectly told they need paperwork they don’t have, and are facing barriers at every turn. According to the government, people do not need proof of address or an ID to register with a GP. But the reality is that people without this information are routinely being turned away from surgeries across the UK or denied vaccines at walk-in and pop-up clinics.

How can this be addressed to ensure undocumented migrants in the UK, often going back out into work as society starts to open up again soon, are not at greater risk than others of becoming exposed to infection without any protection?

Join us on 20 July at 3pm BST as we explore the findings from our latest investigation and discusses the negative impact unequal access to the vaccine will have on already vulnerable communities and on the overall success of the UK vaccine rollout.

Our community organiser Emiliano Mellino will be joined by one of our case studies as well as:

Dr Habib Naqvi, director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory

Gwenetta Curry, Lecturer of Race, Ethnicity, and Health at the University of Edinburgh

Anna Miller, Head of Policy & Advocacy, Doctors of the World

To register go here: https://is.gd/IALPkf