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Homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, disease should not be a sentence!
People experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19. Lack of housing and decent living conditions affects people's physical and mental health. In the context of the pandemic, people experiencing unsheltered homelessness are at higher due to their living conditions. Outdoor settings can allow people to increase the physical distance between themselves and others. At the same time, during the cold season, they are exposed to the development of more seasonal diseases and weakened immunity. In addition, sleeping outdoors often does not offer protection from the environment, adequate access to sanitation and hygiene facilities or connection to services and healthcare. [1]
In the case of COVID-19 infection, homeless people need special support to ensure recovery from the disease. It is fundamental:
- Access to health - providing non-discriminatory access to health services to all people.
- Housing - creating a safe place for homeless people to recover effectively after discharge from the hospital
Without these basic needs, people experiencing homelessness can suffer severe consequences as a result of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova has specified that homeless people can be vaccinated even if they lack identity documents. In this context, people will be issued with a special document allowing them to be identified for the administration of the second dose. [2]
Vaccination against COVID-19 remains limited, and there is no data on the number of homeless people vaccinated. We recall that a research conducted in mun. Chisinau in 2016[3], mentions about 3000 homeless people in Chisinau and the capacity of the Centre for accommodation and orientation for people without stable residence is a maximum of 150 people.[4] Tuberculosis is a contraindication for accessing the placement service.
[1] CDC, Interim Guidance on People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness, 4 November 2021 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/homeless-shelters/unsheltered-homelessness.html
[2] În ce condiții pot fi vaccinate persoanele fără adăpost (noi.md)
[3]http://afi.md/eng/news/operational-study-on-the-prevalence-and-profile-of-comorbidities-among-homeless-pe-107
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