A serious warning came as global inequalities in access to vaccines continued to grow. More than half of the world’s doses have so far been given in only ten rich countries, which is less than 10% of the world’s population, while more than 100 countries have not yet vaccinated one person. Many poorer countries are due to receive their first vaccinations in the coming weeks and months, so organizations called on governments to include all front-line health workers in their distribution plans – including those often overlooked in a pandemic, such as cleaners, community health workers and others. social workers – to save lives and provide safe working conditions.
“The death of one healthcare worker in COVID-19 every 30 minutes is both a tragedy and an injustice. Healthcare workers around the world have put their lives on the line trying to keep people safe from COVID-19, but far too many have been left unprotected and paid the final price,” said Steve Cockburn, Director of Economic and Social Law, Amnesty International.
“Governments need to ensure that all healthcare workers, everywhere, are protected from COVID-19. As they have risked their lives throughout the pandemic, it is time to prioritize them over life-saving vaccines. Urgent action is needed to address the huge global inequalities in access to vaccines. a worker in Peru is protected as much as a doctor in the UK. “
The organizations analyze data published by governments, trade unions, the media and civil society organizations in more than 70 countries. However, these figures are likely to be underestimated as many governments have not collected official data or have done so only in part.
Ignored and unprotected
Safe working conditions and a lack of personal protective equipment have caused huge problems for healthcare workers throughout the pandemic, especially in the early stages. Amnesty International report in July 2020 found a lack of adequate personal protective equipment in almost every 63 countries monitored. Some groups are particularly neglected and countries, including Malaysia, Mexico and U.S.cleaners, auxiliary staff, and social workers were subject to retaliation, including dismissal and arrests, requiring personal protective equipment and safe working conditions.
In a significant number of countries, neglect of care workers has been a consistent feature of the pandemic. At least 1,576 nursing home staff have so far died of COVID-19 in the United States. In the UK, 494 social care workers died in 2020, and government data show that those working in nursing homes and community service were more than three times more likely to die in COVID-19 than the general working population.
Recent report UNICARE, UNI ‘s Global Union Sector, highlighted the higher rates of infections and deaths of nursing staff working in temporary staff and in staff with a lower staff – to – bed ratio.
“These deaths are appalling, catastrophic and reflect only a fraction of the real cost of a pandemic to nursing workers around the world. The virus makes no distinction between surgeon and nursing home worker or home care assistant, nor should vaccinations, protective equipment and safety protocols , said Christy Hoffman, Secretary-General of the UNI Global Union.
“Our response to COVID-19 must encourage fundamental changes in treatment, otherwise it will repeat the inequality that has unnecessarily endangered so many lives.”
Uneven vaccination is introduced
Although highly vulnerable healthcare workers have been identified as vaccination priorities in most countries ’national distribution plans, global inequality in vaccine availability means that no healthcare worker has received the vaccine in more than 100 countries.
At the same time, health workers in some countries who have started vaccination programs are at risk of losing priority or having to wait either due to lack of supply, implementation problems, or a narrow definition of health worker.
In Europe, health workers have generally been prioritized in national plans, although delivery challenges have slowed the pace of deployment. In some countries, unions and employers also had to recommend that home care workers be formally designated as health care workers in order to be included in the first priority groups for vaccination.
In countries such as Brazil and Peru, where vaccination of health workers began in January and February, respectively, health workers ’organizations reported that in some circumstances, administrative staff and management have been vaccinated in front of front-line staff. In Peru, some hospital cleaners and sanitation staff are also not supplied with vaccines despite exposure to the virus.
In South Africa, where more than 492 healthcare workers died in 2020, the government has recently started vaccinating some healthcare workers as part of a Johnson and Johnson vaccine trial, and will receive more supplies in the coming months, despite initial plans to halt Oxford / AstraZeneca. In February, the South African Organization for Democratic Nursing (DENOSA) called on the government to ensure that rural nurses are fully involved in the introduction of the vaccine after they have been neglected in the introduction of personal protective equipment.
It is imperative that governments prioritize all foreground health workers in their vaccination plans. In support of Human vaccination campaign, Amnesty International, Public Services International (PSI) and UNI Global Union also call on governments to take urgent action to increase global vaccine supplies by investing in production capacity and ensuring that vaccine manufacturers share their technology and knowledge so that everyone has a chance to shoot. vaccine.
“A key way to speed up vaccinations and prevent unnecessary deaths for front-line workers is to grant the WTO an exemption from patents supported by poorer countries, which may still not be able to obtain the cheaper vaccines that come with it,” said Rosa Pavanelli, Secretary – General of the PSI.
All governments must be able to procure and administer COVID-19 vaccines to us and our communities as soon as possible. Healthcare workers are only really safe when everyone is safe. “
Source: Amnesty International
Source: The Nordic Page