Vaccines are now available globally to help protect people from the coronavirus yet many people with disabilities have not been a priority, those with chronic illnesses were given a priority but did the government consider their accessibility, how quickly and easier can they access the vaccines?
Appropriate Communication and sensitization should have been carried out among the disabled community, also vaccine programs must take appropriate steps to ensure that, communications with members of the public with disabilities are as effective as communications with others and provide auxiliary aids and services where necessary to give individuals with disabilities the opportunity to receive vaccinations like everyone.
Auxiliary aids that may be required include, providing printed materials in Braille, large print, or electronic formats accessible to screen reader software; captioning and audio-describing videos; providing sign language interpreters or the Video Remote Interpreting Service to relay vaccine-related information.
county vaccine program should come up with mechanisms that will ensure individuals with mobility disabilities are able to travel to any of the vaccination sites, for reasons related to their disabilities, the program should have to find an alternative way to provide easy access to the vaccine, which could include the provision of transportation to the site or, vaccine administration at home or at a site to which individuals with disabilities are able to travel.
As a best practice, the program should locate vaccination distribution sites in areas accessible to communities with limited transportation options, including urban or rural areas where vehicle or public transportation may be a challenge