Undocumented migrants during the covid-19 pandemic: Socio-economic determinants, clinical features and pharmacological treatment

Population groups such as undocumented migrants have been almost completely forgotten during the COVID-19 pandemic, though they have been living in all European countries for decades and new arrivals have continued throughout the pandem-ic. The aim of this study was to investigate their health conditions during the current pandemic. We analysed the records of 272 patients with respiratory issues attending the outpatient clinic of a large charity in Milan, Italy: amongst them, 18 had COVID-19 confirmed by rhino-pharyngeal swab and 1 of them deceased. All the patients attending the clinic appeared to have several risk factors for COVID-19 and chronic conditions suspected to predis-pose to the disease and/or to worsen severity and outcomes: hypertension, immunosuppression and previous close contact with COVID-19 patients were the most important ones. Presenting symptoms were worse in patients with COVID-19 than in those with other respiratory issues. These results are dis-cussed in light of the necessity to provide better healthcare to undocumented migrants.