The Guardian
‘Essentially a death sentence’: California’s vaccine plan attracts residents with disabilities
The state’s plan was criticized as too late, leaving those with high-risk conditions uncertain about when their turn will come. A healthcare professional administers a Covid-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Pomona, California. Photo: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / Rex / Shutterstock California’s leaders are on fire with contradictory messages from the state about how people with disabilities will be prioritized for the Covid-19 vaccine, a situation that advocates say has left millions of physically disabled and chronically ill residents in trouble. Last month, state governor Gavin Newsom abruptly announced that California would deviate from national guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by prioritizing age, rather than the underlying risk, when deciding who the next vaccine would be, arguing that “would allow us to increase much more quickly”. The move, however, was fiercely criticized for leaving people with a range of physical and developmental disabilities and confused medical conditions about when it would be their turn. Supporters have asked the state to re-prioritize high-risk Californians – including people with disabilities. However, on Friday afternoon, authorities changed course, announcing that people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk diseases, including cancer, kidney disease and weakened immune systems, as well as people with developmental disabilities, will have access to Covid-19 vaccines after March 15, along with food workers and educators. Doctors can also offer the vaccine to high-risk people who do not fall into the categories established by health authorities. But the one-month wait for clarity, combined with the vagueness about how residents with disabilities fit in and don’t fit into the new policy, has only increased frustrations. “This new policy is not enough,” said Charis Hill, 34, a disabled Sacramento-based activist who has an autoimmune disease and takes drugs that suppress her immune system. “It almost looks like it’s too late.” Andy Imparato, the executive director of Disability Rights California, said Friday’s announcement “is a big step forward”. Imparato has participated in meetings with the Advisory Committee on Community Vaccines, a panel of experts and interested parties, about distribution plans. He said he would like the state to continue to develop strategies to quickly reach adults with disabilities living in collective homes and those who need home health care providers. And, he added, “If we can postpone the March 15 date as vaccine supplies increase, that would be my preference.” California is one of the few states to prioritize age in its vaccine distribution, a departure from the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Photo: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / Rex / Shutterstock The new policy, which allows young people and middle-aged people with disabilities to receive vaccines from their medical provider or at mass vaccination clinics, leaves many questions unanswered. The state provided a list of “serious conditions”, including cancer, chronic kidney disease, vulnerability of the immune system due to organ transplantation and pregnancy, which qualifies residents to access inoculation. Other people with disabilities and chronic illnesses will have to obtain approval from their doctors. “My disease group is not listed,” said Hill. “It immediately made me feel nauseous.” Hill was concerned about catching common viral infections even before the pandemic hit – for them, a mild flu could turn into life-threatening pneumonia. In the past year, they have not left home, except for unavoidable medical appointments. “My personal social interaction is almost entirely in the doctor’s office,” they said. “This is the only time I touch a person, because it is medically necessary.” The state’s comings and goings on how to distribute vaccines emerged a year ago in a pandemic that discriminated against and disproportionately infected and killed people with disabilities, either because of their frequent exposure to caregivers and health professionals or because of the suppressed immune system and other complications . Neither California nor the United States comprehensively monitored how many disabled residents died from Covid-19. The UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) found that nearly six out of 10 people who died from Covid-19 in England were disabled. “The decision not to prioritize people with disabilities and high risk is essentially a death sentence,” said Hill. More than physical isolation due to the inability to leave the house safely, Hill said they felt a kind of “social and cultural isolation, as they were continually left out of the conversation and excluded from public health and safety planning.” The distribution of the vaccine in the United States has been slow and, at times, faltering – partly due to the limited amount of vaccines. While the Biden government works to accelerate the process, many residents question why California is lagging behind less resourceful states, including Utah, Dakotas and West Virginia, in administering the doses that have been allocated. Alice Wong, a disabled activist in San Francisco, worries about the consequences the pandemic will have on Californians with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Photo: Talia Herman / The Guardian Utah and South Dakota prioritized some or all residents with high-risk conditions above the general public – and South Dakota started giving vaccines to people with high-risk and disabled medical conditions living in home group, alongside the elderly. California is offering vaccines only to people aged 65 and over, residents of nursing homes and health, education, childcare, emergency services, agriculture and food services workers. Alice Wong, a San Francisco-based disability activist who uses a ventilator and full-time home attendants, said she is concerned about the permanent consequences the pandemic will have on Californians who have been unable to leave their homes and have delayed medical care and treatments for fear of catching the virus. “Not having the vaccine is an existential threat,” she said. “It is a form of violence against the disabled. It is eugenics. ”Wong said he does not understand why the Newsom government failed to deliver the vaccine efficiently and equitably, given that the authorities had a year to plan and prepare for it. “I am irritated by having to get to this point,” she said. The governor’s office did not directly respond to a Guardian request for comment, nor did the state’s Covid-19 vaccine task force. At a news conference on Monday, Newsom said the state would “look after the most vulnerable and people in the developmentally disabled community”, but added that “everything we do will not be enough until the [vaccine] the supply is adequate ”. Kristen Lopez, a Los Angeles entertainment journalist in her 30s with fragile bone disease, said the state’s initial layered vaccine policy was far from ideal, “but at least it was understandable in some way. There was at least one timeline, ”said Lopez. His mother, who is Lopez’s home health provider, was part of the first tier of health professionals qualified for the vaccine. “As she was saying, it doesn’t make sense for healthcare professionals to be able to get it, but not all the vulnerable people they are caring for are.” “At this point,” added Lopez, “everything looks arbitrary.”