Disability advocates condemn GOP senator protesting deaf Detroiters' eligibility for COVID vaccines

During an especially testy session Thursday in the Michigan Senate — which eventually ended with the passage of a controversial $727 million supplemental funding bill including conservative amendments — GOP lawmakers used their floor speeches to criticize the state’s vaccine distribution that prioritizes vulnerable populations based on factors like race and income.

State Sen. Tom Barrett (R-Potterville) also attacked Detroit’s initiative last week to open up the city’s vaccination queue to adults with disabilities, including those with vision or hearing impairments, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and others.

Research from Johns Hopkins University has shown that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across — all age groups — are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the rest of the population.

“Throughout committee testimony, we were promised that people would not be eligible to jump ahead of their priority group status to gain access to the vaccine before those who were more vulnerable were offered and given the option to receive it,” Barrett said on Thursday.

Read more: https://www.michiganadvance.com/2021/03/01/disability-advocates-condemn-gop-senator-protesting-deaf-detroiters-eligibility-for-covid-vaccines/