Go to democracy.io to write to your Member of Congress today and ask them to provide vaccines to US citizens abroad who need them.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 is not going away. DACH applauds the US for leading the way in getting vaccines to the rest of the world, but there are still many US citizens living (and dying) outside the United States who lack access to vaccines. Whether you have already received a vaccine or not, we hope you will show solidarity with your fellow citizens abroad who are still waiting for theirs.
Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona is among many Members of Congress who are trying to get the message to the White House and the State Department that there are still many US citizens living abroad who need our help, if we are to fulfill our government's pledge that ALL US citizens will have access to vaccines. YOU can help by writing to YOUR Representative TODAY to support Rep. Grijalva in his efforts. It's pretty simple and it only takes a couple minutes - and you might just save some lives. So do it today - it would be great if members of Congress woke up on Monday to find thousands of messages from their constituents asking them to do the right thing. Here are just a few quick steps that YOU can take to make it happen:
- Click here to write to your Member of Congress.
- Fill in your voting address in the United States.
- Select your House member.
- Copy this language into the subject line: "Sign on to Rep. Grijalva's Letter asking for Vaccines for Americans Abroad"
- Copy the message below into the space provided - and take a few seconds to read it - it really makes the case.
- Fill in any details required - (use 000-000-0000 if you don't have a US phone number - and use your voting address in the US)
- SEND!
Once you're done, please forward this message to friends and families inside and outside the United States and URGE them to URGENTLY reach out to their own Congressional Rep. Our fellow citizens need all the help that we can give them. If you have any doubts, please take a look at this video prepared by US citizens abroad just like you - and share it with others.
Click here for more information about what Democrats Abroad's COVID TASK FORCE is doing about publicizing this issue - and reach Senator Chris Murphy's letter to Secretary Blinken asking for vaccines for US citizens abroad. Also, please send questions or comments to [email protected]. Together, we can beat this thing.
Adapted from an email sent on 25 September 2021 by Art Schankler, International Vice Chair and member of the Covid Task Force.
As one of your constituents living abroad, I urge you to support efforts to ensure that ALL Americans, whether they live inside or outside the United States have access to effective Covid-19 vaccines. Please see the message below from Rep. Grijalva and join his efforts to bring this issue to the attention of the White House and State Department. I know that for many of my fellow overseas Americans, including your constituents, this is literally a life or death issue.
Dear Colleague,
I invite you to join me on a letter to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting urgent executive action to ensure Americans living abroad have access to COVID-19 vaccinations. There are nearly 9 million Americans living overseas, including tens of thousands of veterans, who may not have access to a vaccine due to numerous barriers. We must not allow our fellow constituents overseas, including many veterans who have served and protected our nation, to be left behind in the fight against COVID-19.
To sign on to this letter or ask additional questions, please contact Andrea Jimenez Flores at [email protected] by Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
Sincerely,
Raúl M. Grijalva
Member of Congress
Dear President Biden and Secretary Blinken,
We appreciate your steadfast work to ensure Americans have access to vaccinations to protect them from the severe impacts of COVID-19. As we consider booster shots and continue to encourage unvaccinated Americans to get shots, we would like to direct your attention to our fellow Americans overseas that want to get vaccinated but do not currently have access. We ask that you take urgent executive action to ensure Americans living abroad have access to vaccinations.
There are nearly 9 million Americans living overseas, including tens of thousands of veterans, who may not have access to a vaccine. While we appreciate that the federal government does not normally play a role in the provision of health care for Americans living overseas – this is not a normal time in our history. We have dedicated a considerable amount of federal government funding to ensure Americans have access to a vaccine. Our citizens living overseas, who are subject to federal taxation, should have access to these resources.
Americans abroad currently face numerous barriers in trying to obtain a vaccine. Many of our constituents overseas are living in countries with a limited supply of vaccines, where vaccine access is not yet available and where the healthcare infrastructure does not have the capacity to administer them. In some countries, Americans are not eligible to receive the vaccine as they are deemed ineligible as non-citizens or low priority. In other instances, the financial hardship of flying back to the United States to be vaccinated or quarantining for a period in the host country is too burdensome.
Our government made a pledge to secure enough vaccines for all Americans and that pledge extends to Americans overseas. We urge you to establish additional means by which Americans abroad can be vaccinated including the use of military installations, embassies, as feasible, to ensure quick and safe distribution to the individuals that cannot currently access a vaccine. We have already witnessed both the Department of State and Department of Defense successfully vaccinate personnel abroad which gives us the reassurance that we have the capacity and can do more.
As our country continues to make progress at home in the fight against COVID, we must not allow our fellow constituents overseas, including many veterans who have served and protected our nation, to be left behind. We can and must ensure they have access to the vaccine which is why we urge you to use all the tools at your disposal to fulfill that critical promise to Americans.