Germany has pledged millions of dollars in extra funding to ensure all Holocaust survivors are vaccinated against coronavirus, said an organization that handles claims on its behalf Jewish victims Wednesday.
As a result of age alone, Holocaust survivors are at greater risk of dying from COVID-19. Many suffer severe medical issues related to early childhood infertility and ill-treatment at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
While many of the 340,000 survivors worldwide have been vaccinated, thousands are still waiting for their photos after experiencing problems with transportation to vaccine centers, ordering logistics way or other problems, said Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the New York Conference based on Jewish anti-German material claims.
Following talks with the Claims Conference, Germany agreed to provide an additional $ 13.5 million that would be used to overcome these obstacles, Schneider said.
“Usually the most vulnerable have the least access, the least family support. These are the ones that could be left behind, ”Schneider said in a phone interview from New York.
Using its database, the Claims Conference is reaching out to Holocaust survivors by phone and post to find out if they want the vaccine, if their questions about the vaccines, and what help they need.
The barriers to vaccination vary from country to country.
In the United States, where there are about 50,000 left, Applications Conference data shows that about 40% of the vaccine has not been received.
The group’s outreach found that many of them had difficulty trying to register online for vaccination meetings, Schneider said.
In Israel, which has been recommended for the rapid pace of vaccine distribution, there are about 20,000 people who have survived a disability and may not have been able to make it to vaccine centers, according to Schneider. The Claims Conference has made repairs with an ambulance service to pick them up, drop them off and take them home, and then repeat the procedure when the individuals are expecting for a second look. .
In Ukraine, where vaccines are scarce, the Advocacy Conference is reaching out to 12,000 survivors and acknowledging the need for a “very large percentage”. help once vaccines are available to them.
“These are people who were abandoned by the whole world in their youth, and what we are saying now is that we will not abandon you, we will be there for you through this process, no matter what. e, “Schneider said. “We have to be there for them, no matter what country. Whatever. ”
The Advocacy Conference will lead annual talks with Germany to negotiate compensation for Holocaust survivors. As a result, the German government has paid more than $ 80 billion in Holocaust compensation since 1952.
In 2021, they plan to distribute some $ 625 million in direct compensation to more than 60,000 survivors in 83 countries and distribute about $ 653 million in donations to some 300 social service organizations on worldwide that provides services such as home care, food and medicine.
Germany pledged an additional $ 4.3 million last year to help organizations around the world provide care with the additional challenges of the pandemic.