Vaccine booking a headache for international students
CBU students union launches initiative
SYDNEY, N.S. — Booking her first COVID-19 vaccine appointment was an ordeal for Cape Breton University student Mandy Nguyen.
The third-year tourism and hospitality management student had to call 10 times in a row, getting cut off after 30 seconds each time “due to a high volume of callers.”
“So, the next two days, I call them again around … like 9 or 10 a.m.,” said Nguyen, who is the vice-president of promotions on CBU’s 202122 students union.
She was told her estimated wait time to reach an agent was three hours.
When Nguyen did finally get an appointment booked, she didn’t receive the confirmation email because the agent she spoke to had mistyped her email.
“I just called them again,” said Nguyen. She called later in the evening when the line wasn’t as busy and said her wait time was reduced to 30 minutes.
NO HEALTH CARD
Nguyen, who is an international student from Vietnam, can’t book her COVID-19 appointments online. Like many others, she doesn’t yet qualify for a Nova Scotia (MSI) health card.
“The wait time in Nova Scotia is 13 months and one day to get MSI if you're an international student,” said CBU 2021-22 students union president Madlyn O’Brien.
O’Brien said international students make up about 63 per cent of the university’s student population.
The province’s online portal to book COVID-19 appointments requires a health card number, leaving international students to instead call a toll-free number to book their appointment.
Nguyen, who is 19, arrived in the province for her program in September 2019, which would have meant that she would be eligible to apply for MSI in September 2020.
However, her program requires she do an internship, and hers was out of province in Ontario.
“So, when I came back, I [didn’t] have enough [consecutive] months to apply for MSI,” said Nguyen.
Many international students also went home at the start of the pandemic, when things were shutting down and classes were moving online, to be with their family.
“The issue that we’re facing now is it has to be a consecutive 13 months [in Nova Scotia to qualify for MSI], and so any students that went home at the start of the pandemic … that broke up their 13 months,” said O’Brien, 20, who is in her final year in CBU’s political science program.
LAUNCHING AN INITIATIVE
At the end of last week, O’Brien and the other members of the students union executive team were approached by university officials, who discussed the barriers international students were facing booking vaccine appointments.
“We do know lots of students who are working, lots of students who are in summer courses and whatnot, and they simply don’t have the time to wait [for hours],” said O’Brien.
The union decided to create an initiative to help those students book their vaccine appointments.
They are handing out forms to all international students who want help. Students fill out their first and last name, address, cell phone number and email address, and members of the union will call the toll-free number for them.
“We’ll just wait until we have like five or 10 appointments and then call in and book them all,” said O’Brien.
“We’re just going to keep cycling through, and if the uptake does become very high, we’ll look at hiring a student position to take on this role, or even student volunteers.”
Once the student receives their confirmation email of the appointment, they can rebook for a time and date that suits their schedule.
Nguyen said she knows of many international students who have had similar problems booking COVID-19 appointments, and who intend to use this service.
“I believe that [the initiative] will help students,” said Nguyen. “I know that there’s a need there and as student leaders, we need to take action to support our students.”
QUALIFYING FOR PROVINCIAL HEALTH COVERAGE
O’Brien said that CBU’s students union is pushing for international students in Nova Scotia to qualify for provincial health coverage as soon as their studies in the province begin.
“When you look at New Brunswick and how an international student who arrives there, the moment they step off the plane they’re eligible, as well as anyone they bring with them. So, if they’re bringing a spouse, a child, they’re all covered as well,” said O’Brien.
“So why are we not offering the same amount of service to international students that our neighbouring provinces are?”
She said it is especially incredible when one thinks how important international students — a growing segment of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s population — are to the overall local economy.
“Our economy has been saved by international students, like we are so dependent on this group of students, and they’re not being covered. They want to help through this public health crisis. They want to get tested, they want to get their vaccines, and they’re being blocked.”