Costa Rica government unveils migrant COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Two-thirds of the total population of Costa Rica have received at least one dose of either the AstraZeneca or the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccines. Since 2018, the Central American country has attracted a large number of migrants from Nicaragua as social and economic difficulties increased.

Costa Rica on Friday started a COVID-19 vaccination campaign targeting migrants, regardless of their legal status in the Central American country, President Carlos Alvarado said.

Foreigners, who make up about 9% of the population, have so far faced difficulties getting vaccinated because many lack social security or residency papers. "Over the next seven days we'll have special vaccination events for people who lack legal status," he said during a visit to a vaccination center. "We'll overcome the pandemic when the entire population is vaccinated."

Costa Rica's government has earmarked 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the campaign, said Pedro Gonzalez, deputy health minister. It is not clear how many migrants have already been vaccinated. Two-thirds of the total population of Costa Rica have received at least one dose of either the AstraZeneca or the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccines.

Since 2018, the Central American country has attracted a large number of migrants from Nicaragua as social and economic difficulties increased. More than 50,000 Nicaraguans were waiting for a response to their requests for refuge in September while another 100,000 lack legal status, estimated Carlos Sandoval, a researcher on migration at the University of Costa Rica.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)