It seems that more and more people are coming home to get the vaccine. People outside the U.S. are still waiting for the first dose of the vaccine, while people at home are getting their third.
Americans living abroad
Asray Gopa, a 17-year-old who lives in Bangalore, in India. He is still waiting for the vaccine. Under the country’s rules, he’s not old enough to get it yet.
A U.S. Army veteran Leighton Slattery of 83 who lives in Jakarta, Indonesia. They implored the officials to share the vaccines donated by the U.S.
Charlie Blocker, a businessman, 59 years old, lives in Bangkok. He spent weeks looking for the vaccine in the city. He couldn’t find it, even though the U.S. government shipped many doses to the embassy. He later got hospitalized for COVID-19.
All three are U.S. citizens, and all three are looking for the vaccine. Together with other 12 Americans abroad, they spoke with The Washington Post about the troubles they had to go through when looking for a way to get the vaccine. They received little to no guidance from the Biden administration, and they watched how thousands of doses in the United States expired, going to waste, with no people wanting to get them.
Millions of people are getting the third dose of good vaccines, and some have a hard time finding the first one. Months of pleading from expats, and their advocates, who represent 9 million American people abroad, have done nothing, and there’s no change in policy.
Marylouise Serrato, executive director of American Citizens Abroad, stated: “You have Americans who are filing and paying taxes, and a promise by the administration that all Americans will get vaccinated, and yet that whole community has been left out of the equation.” The answer was that the U.S. government does not provide private health care to citizens who live abroad.
So, when (or should we use ‘if’ better) are people abroad getting the first dose of the vaccine?
