TORONTO Even though Black and racialized Canadians face higher rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, only a few vaccine clinics across the country have been set up specifically for them. Front-line workers say that needs to change to ensure high-risk groups have equitable access to immunization. Thanks to months of tireless advocacy work, vaccine clinics for Black and racialized people were set up during April and May by public health officials in Hamilton, Ont. Similar temporary clinics are also popping up across Nova Scotia. âItâs not just equitable, it s actually good public health policy,â Hamilton critical care physician Dr. Abubaker Khalifa told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview, citing the cityâs own census and race-based COVID-19 data as the driving factor.
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SASKATOON Instead of gathering at in-person vigils across the country, due to the pandemic many in Canada and around the world observed International Disability Day of Mourning online and remembered disabled people who’ve been killed by family and caregivers. Hundreds of people have shared their thoughts and remembrances online using the hashtag DisabilityDayofMourning, including Canadian advocate Kim Sauder, who hosts the blog Crippled Scholar. She told CTVNews.ca by phone on Monday that this day is when “disabled people all around the world commemorate and mourn disabled people who’ve been murdered.” This isn’t a condemnation by the way. Creating that video was a month long process of remembrance and mourning.
In B.C., for example, those with intellectual disabilities in group homes were among some of the first vaccinated. âBut thereâs [no] consideration of those of us living in the community, those of us requiring personal support workers or attendants or other family members to provide care,â Smith, who has severe Anaphylaxis, told CTVNews.ca. âThere doesnât seem to be a clear plan.â She said that disabled people like her friend, who uses a wheelchair, are at higher risk because of their increased interactions. âMany of us live with conditions that put us at higher risk of getting COVID or [are] put us at risk because of the number of humans we encounter,â she said, noting that her friend,who uses a wheelchair, doesnât even leave the house.