Labor group calls for help getting vaccines for people without resident registration forms to prevent the homeless from being left behind

Labor group calls for help getting vaccines for people without resident registration forms to prevent the homeless from being left behind

A member of the Okinawa – Shuri Day Laborers Union (left) handing a written request to Naha City asking for a plan to vaccinate the homeless – June 8, at Naha City Hall


June 10, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

While distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine continues, an issue has arisen regarding how to distribute the vaccine to the homeless. Since inoculation tickets using the resident registration lists, it is difficult for the homeless to acquire them, as well as difficult for them to receive any important information about the vaccine. The Naha-based support organization “Okinawa – Shuri Day Laborer Union (ODLU, Sakae Iha, representative) called on Naha City and Okinawa Prefecture to not leave behind the homeless when it comes to distributing vaccines.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) conducted in January of 2020, there are officially 52 homeless people in Okinawa, 32 of which live in Naha. However, the survey was conducted before the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the world, and the ODLU have said that they have visited others that have lost their jobs due to the pandemic when they go to distribute food at Yogi Park in Naha twice per month. The MHLW has told municipalities in April that inoculation tickets can be reissued to the homeless if they request them, however there have not been any specific details given since.

Even if a homeless person has a resident registration form, if the address is in another town or outside of the prefecture, it is difficult for the municipalities to make the necessary adjustments needed to supply an inoculation ticket. Also, there are many towns and cities that use phones and the internet to manage vaccine reservations, which creates another difficult hurdle for the homeless.

The ODLU has called on Naha City and Okinawa Prefecture to develop an independent plant for inoculating the homeless. An executive director with the organization, 65, said, “I think it is challenging for the municipalities due to the rush of reservations being made for the vaccine, however to put off treating the homeless is discrimination with life-or-death consequences.”

 

(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)

 

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