Public Health is for Everyone An inclusive planning toolkit for public health professionals

A public service video that effectively communicates important messages about various disaster preparedness topics. It includes a portion on considerations for individuals with access and functional needs (12:24). Answers questions: Who is considered a person with access and functional needs? What should a person with an access and functional need do to prepare for a disaster or emergency? How should people with access and functional needs stay informed?

COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus that spreads easily and can make people very sick. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine protects against COVID-19, and is an important tool to help stop the pandemic. People with developmental disabilities, their families, and supporters play an important role in preventing COVID-19 by getting a vaccine. View this website for fact sheets with information about the COVID-19 Vaccine.

Black, Indigenous and People of Color, disabled people, higher weight people,and older adults have historically experienced and continue to experience discrimination by medical professionals. In health care settings, members of these communities face pervasive negative biases and inaccurate assumptions about their value, quality of life, capacity to communicate and make decisions, and likelihood of survival.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, these biases can have serious and even deadly consequences. Such biases may be exacerbated when hospitals are faced with scarce resources and must make decisions about which critically ill patients should receive treatment. The “crisis standards of care” which are used by many states and hospitals to make these decisions, have too often reflected these biases. It is crucial that these standards be tailored to avoid unlawful discrimination.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help households struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, and virtual classrooms.

Under Federal guidance, states have developed plans to vaccinate residents for COVID-19 in tiers. Nursing home residents and older adults have been prioritized across the board, but as state plans evolve over time, it has become clear that nonelderly community residents with disabilities, as a group, are not being afforded high priority for vaccination. Several states target segments of the disability population, such as those with specified chronic health conditions confirmed to increase the risk of COVID-related mortality, leaving many others at high risk for COVID exposure, severe disease, and mortality to wait for a later phase.

This analysis focuses on people with disabilities who need and receive long -term services and supports (LTSS) in their homes and other community settings, a largely overlooked population at high risk for both exposure to the virus, because they typically get daily help and other services from people entering their living quarters, and for mortality, because of health conditions and impairments that increase their likelihood of severe disease. 

The National Guardianship Association, along with the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging and the National Center for State Courts, recognizes that guardians have many questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Together we have developed some answers to questions we are hearing from guardians. This supplements the FAQ published in September 2020.

For all questions you should refer to your state laws, local resources, medical advice, and specific court orders. Nothing in this document is to be considered legal advice for specific questions. Consult with your attorney and other professionals as necessary and use the NGA Standards of Practice for further guidance when faced with difficult decisions.

A social story in plain language that explains the process of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

A social story in plain language that explains the process of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected people with Intellectual or Developmental Disability (I/DD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on people with I/DD across the USand to educate key stakeholders to better support people with I/DD.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, access to dependable, affordable public transportation is more important than ever. Many essential workers rely on public transportation to commute to jobs providing critical services, like health care. But they and many others don’t have equal access to affordable transportation. Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); people with disabilities; the elderly; and people with irregular work schedules often face significant barriers to finding safe and affordable means of transportation to work, and they did long before the pandemic began.

The Urban Institute explored this issue during a recent webinar, when we showcased our new transportation equity data tool and hosted a panel discussion with city and community leaders nationwide. Speakers discussed barriers to transportation equity and solutions cities can use to increase equity in the wake of COVID-19. Four lessons emerged from the conversation.