National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM)
Many refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) community members experience significant cultural, linguistic, and logistical barriers to accessing health information and healthcare, including accurate information about COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccination opportunities.
The availability of accurate COVID-19 information that is culturally and linguistically relevant is essential to keeping communities safe. Messages change rapidly and some health departments may face challenges with developing health messaging that reaches all communities, particularly refugees, immigrants, and migrants (RIM).
Many refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) community members experience significant barriers to getting accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the vaccine itself. At clinics and mass vaccination events, the challenge of navigating a large and confusing site with unfamiliar staff can be intimidating.
Boosters are shots you get after you are fully vaccinated so that you can stay protected against COVID-19. It is important to stay up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines by getting boosters when you are eligible.
Immunization rates are lower among refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities due to factors that include limited culturally and linguistically appropriate information, knowledge and beliefs about a disease and vaccine, and challenges accessing healthcare (related to cost, transportation, medical system complexity/unfamiliarity, lack of welcoming environment, etc.). Vaccine hesitancy is a significant hurdle to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and getting back to
Viruses are always changing to try to outsmart our bodies and to assure it can survive through spreading to new people. When a big change happens, scientists call it a new variant. Some variants disappear and never cause harm, while others can make a virus easier to spread, harder to treat, and/or more deadly. When variants occur, scientists and experts monitor them closely. Many variants of the COVID-19 virus have already been discovered and are being monitored.
In the COVID-19 response, some vaccination sites are challenged to vaccinate large numbers of refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) community members due to misconceptions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, language barriers, confusion about the registration and administration process, and awareness of existing services. Ensuring access to accurate vaccine facts and information about vaccination sites and the process is critical for these communities.
A key component of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is misinformation and disinformation about vaccine safety that is combined with fear and uncertainty about side effects. Hearing from known and trusted people about their vaccine experience is useful in decreasing fear and increasing acceptance.
Many community members turn to local, trusted sources to get information about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. For refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities, local media outlets that are linguistically and culturally concordant are essential conduits for the most up-to-date COVID-19 information and guidance.
The availability of accurate COVID-19 information that is culturally and linguistically appropriate is essential to keeping communities safe. Likewise, it is also vital to provide information via channels that community members actively use and trust.
The availability of accurate COVID-19 information that is culturally and linguistically relevant is essential to keeping communities safe. Messages change rapidly and some health departments may face challenges with developing health messaging that reaches all communities, particularly refugees, immigrants, and migrants (RIM).
The availability of accurate COVID-19 information that is culturally and linguistically relevant is essential to keeping communities safe. Messages change rapidly, and some health departments may face challenges with developing health messaging that reaches all communities, particularly refugees, immigrants, and migrants.
The availability of accurate COVID-19 information that is culturally- and linguistically-appropriate is essential to keeping communities safe. Likewise, it is also important to provide information via channels that community members actively use and trust.
In the COVID-19 response, some sites are reporting challenges in reaching large numbers of refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) community members to disseminate consistent health messaging and awareness of existing services.