COVID-19 vaccines will be available to immigrants in Canada

Coronavirus vaccines will be available to immigrants living in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says that immigration status will not be a factor in the vaccine distribution strategy. PHAC states that COVID-19 vaccines will be available to everyone in Canada for whom it is recommended and approved for use.

Canada has approved the Pfitzer-BioNTech vaccine for people over the age of 16, and the Moderna vaccine for people over the age of 18. Priority for vaccinations is for residents and staff of care homes, health care workers, adults over 70 years old, and adults in Indigenous communities.

The government of Canada has said that as additional vaccines become available, more populations will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Some groups included in this are residents and staff of shared living spaces such as housing for migrant workers, some essential workers, and health care workers who did not receive vaccines in the first rollout.

Immigrants are included in the recommendations made by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) on vaccine distribution priorities. However, there are several factors that put immigrants at risk. Many populations of migrants may have different exposure to the virus and different strains of COVID-19 due to international travel, or their occupations. NACI suggests provinces and territories should plan immunization programs with immigration and refugee departments, provide appropriate educational material in the key languages, and having translators in clinics.

The Canadian federal government expects that everyone who wants the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to do so by September 2021.