COVID-19 vaccine rollout for people living with disability ‘seriously deficient’, royal commission report finds
By disability affairs reporter Nas Campanella and the Specialist Reporting Team’s Celina Edmonds
Posted 27/9/2021
Australian states and territories should not ease COVID restrictions until all people with disability have been given the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, according to the disability royal commission.
Key points:
- The report said it would be “unconscionable” if people with disability had not been given the opportunity to be fully vaccinated before the country opens up
- Experts say there will be a “significant number” of deaths if the country opens up too quickly
- In the UK, data showed 60 per cent of people who died of coronavirus had a disability
In its draft report, released on Monday, the inquiry described the vaccine rollout as “seriously deficient” and recommended the federal government use its best endeavours to “ensure people with disability and support workers are fully vaccinated before any easing of restrictions”.
“It would be grossly unfair, indeed unconscionable, if any people with disability who have not been given the opportunity to be fully vaccinated by the time the 70 per cent threshold is reached are denied the freedoms available to people who have been fully vaccinated,” the report said.
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