QCOSTARICA – After complaints raised by migrants because they were denied being vaccinated against covid-19, finally, this Friday, the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) announced that it will immunize migrants (legal and illegal) and refugee applicants, who meet the requirements established in current local regulations.
According to a statement from the Caja, migrants with legal status, refugees and refugee applicants, must present their identification documents (residence card, work permit, refugee card, refugee applicant card, special category of complementary protection, special category of worker in the agricultural sector, Ngäbe-Buglé dependent person card, cross-border worker card), or the certification of the UN Agency for Refugees indicating that the previous refugee application process was carried out to September 15, 2021.
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Some of the documents that illegal migrants must register to prove their roots in Costa Rica are:
- Be included in the EDUS family file program of the Caja.
- Have a record of children enrolled in educational centers.
- Note from the place where they work that indicates the period of time worked.
- Property records nationwide.
This must be presented in the health area that corresponds to them, according to their place of residence. The condition of insurance (not have to pay into the Caja) is not a requirement for vaccination.
However, the CCSS added that if the migrant person has not previously used the services of the CCSS, they must carry out the due process of identification in the validation offices of rights and medical records in the corresponding health area and, later, go to the vaccination.
Data from the Health Statistics area of the CCSS indicate that as of September 16, 2021, 408,454 doses of the vaccine against covid-19 have been applied to foreigners, of these, 280,812 correspond to first doses and 127, 642 to second doses.
Nicaraguan, Venezuelan, Colombian, Salvadoran, Chinese, Panamanian, Honduran, Peruvian, and Cubans are among the more than 23 nationalities of migrants who have been inoculated against COVID-19.
