“Information was provided, but was insufficient in terms of regularity and accessibility. There are important lessons to be learned for the next crisis,” says Yana Litins’ka, associate professor of public law at the Faculty of Law at Lund University.
In a research study published in the journal Medical Law Review, Yana Litins’ka conducted in-depth interviews with 15 Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Sweden in 2022, and analysed around 500 government documents, international conventions and decisions focusing on the right to health. The results reveal several shortcomings in access to Covid-19 vaccination – not least in terms of information flow.
“The refugees testify that they received all the information as soon as they arrived in Sweden, but then there was silence. At a time when they were still traumatised and very worried about their loved ones left in Ukraine, it was difficult to absorb the information. If the information had been repeated and adapted to the situation, more people might have been vaccinated,” says Yana Litins’ka.
The study identifies three main shortcomings:
- Information management. Information for the new arrivals was not recurrent or sufficiently accessible, despite being available in several languages.
- Financial accessibility. Many refugees lived in places where vaccination was not available. Although vaccination was free of charge, travelling to larger cities could become a financial barrier.
- Administrative obstacles. Difficulties in obtaining a vaccination certificate without a Swedish personal identification number made it difficult to document their vaccination status.
At the same time, Yana Litins'ka wants to emphasise that the actions of the Swedish authorities were fundamentally correct, but that the purpose of the study is to promote better crisis preparedness.
“It is not about pointing fingers, but about providing a basis for strengthening future efforts. Regular, targeted information is one of the simplest but most important tools we have,” she says.