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Volume 31, Number 8—August 2025

Dispatch

COVID-19 Predeparture Test Results and Vaccination Coverage among US-Bound Refugees, 2020–2022

Ashley S. Judge, Tarissa Mitchell, Alexander Klosovsky, Michelle Weinberg, and Christina R. PharesComments to Author 
Author affiliation: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA (A.S. Judge); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (A.S. Judge, T. Mitchell, M. Weinberg, C.R. Phares); International Organization for Migration, Washington, DC, USA (A. Klosovsky)

Main Article

Table 1

Predeparture COVID-19 positivity among US-bound refugees by region and country of overseas medical examination, November 24, 2020–June 11, 2022*

Region and country No. persons positive No. persons tested % Persons with positive test
Total
 622
 23972
 2.6
Europe 37 2069 1.8
Moldova 20 312 6.4
Other† 4 201 2.0
Ukraine
 13
 1556
 0.8
Middle East/North Africa 153 8228 1.9
Jordan 80 2922 2.7
Turkey 46 2032 2.3
Other‡ 2 114 1.8
Egypt 24 2007 1.2
Iraq 1 311 0.3
Lebanon 0 433 0.0
Qatar
 0
 409
 0.0
Sub-Saharan Africa 274 9318 2.9
Uganda 113 1177 9.6
Ethiopia 14 397 3.5
Kenya 17 616 2.8
Tanzania 56 2501 2.2
Zambia 16 725 2.2
Burundi 20 974 2.1
Rwanda 30 1940 1.5
Malawi 4 362 1.1
Other§
 4
 626
 0.6
Americas 49 1674 2.9
El Salvador 27 506 5.3
Guatemala 17 702 2.4
Other¶
 5
 466
 1.1
Asia 109 2683 4.1
Thailand 46 916 5.0
Malaysia 43 911 4.7
Other# 20 856 2.3

*Persons were considered positive if >1 result was positive, negative when >1 result was negative and no tests were positive, and unknown when all results were indeterminate or missing. Number tested excludes persons classified as unknown. Most (88.8%) were tested by reverse transcription PCR, 11.2% by rapid antigen detection, and <0.1% had an unspecified test type. †Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malta, Uzbekistan. ‡Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates. §Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Côte D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Zimbabwe. ¶Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, Honduras. #Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam.

Main Article

Page created: July 02, 2025
Page updated: July 16, 2025
Page reviewed: July 16, 2025
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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