The Arizona Center for Disability Law advocates for COVID-19 vaccine distribution for people with disabilities (Source: KAIT-TV) By KOLD News 13 Staff | December 14, 2020 at 4:33 PM MST - Updated December 14 at 4:33 PM
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - The Arizona Center for Disability Law (ACDL), along with Arc of Arizona, Ability 360, Arizona Developmental Planning Council and numerous advocacy organizations, sent a letter to Dr. Cara Christ requesting Arizonaâs COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan to ensure equitable distribution on behalf of people with disabilities.
âArizona currently has a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the virus continues to spread at unprecedented rates in Arizona, putting enormous strain on our medical system and placing persons with disabilities at great risk for exposure, illness, and death,â said J.J. Rico, CEO, Arizona Center for Disability Law. âWe need clear and specific protections to be listed in Arizonaâs
Several disability advocacy groups in Arizona are joining together to make sure people with disabilities are prioritized in Arizona’s vaccine distribution plan.
The Arizona Center for Disability Law, the Arc of Arizona, Ability360, the Arizona Developmental Planning Council and others sent a letter to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ Dec. 14 calling for explicit language in future revisions of the state’s plan to include individuals with disabilities and their caregivers regardless of the setting where they live.
The state’s draft distribution plan for the COVID-19 vaccine does specifically prioritize people living in Division of Developmental Disabilities’ group homes. But they say many more people here are living with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and they need prioritization, too.