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

More than 80% of refugees and nearly all internally-displaced persons are hosted by low- and middle-income countries – countries which are at the end of the line for doses of vaccines against COVID-19, and where vaccine distribution will expose the fissures in overburdened and weak health systems. In these fragile settings , competition for scarce vaccines may heighten tensions and exacerbate conflict, while unequal access raises the prospect that populations will move in an effort to access vaccines that are not available in their country or region. The authors of this paper argue that a coordinated, comprehensive and global approach to vaccine access is vital.

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Authors: Monette Zard, Ling San Lau, Diana M Bowser, Fouad M Fouad (AUB), Diego I Lucumí, Goleen Samari, Arturo Harker, Donald S Shepard, Wu Zeng, Rachel T Moresky, Mhd Nour Audi, Claire M Greene & S Patrick Kachur

Citation: Zard M, Lau LS, Bowser DM, Fouad FM, Lucumí DI, Samari G, Harker A, Shepard DS, Zeng W, Moresky RT, Audi MN, Greene CM, Kachur SP. Leave no one behind: ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugee and displaced populations. Nat Med. 2021 May;27(5):747-749. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01328-3. PMID: 33875889.