Two weeks ago, the City of Detroit took initiative to make people with intellectual and developmental disabilities an immediate and higher priority in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. This updated prioritization has the potential to protect tens of thousands of disabled lives. This is a move in the right direction.
We are not done.
With Detroit leading, it’s time for Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties, as well as the State of Michigan, to follow suit.
Research shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are three times more likely to die from COVID-19, and that people with Down syndrome are 10 times more likely, than the rest of the population. Additionally, we’ve learned that people with autism are at a higher risk of dying if they contract COVID-19 and that people with schizophrenia are nearly three times more likely to die of coronavirus infection than people without schizophrenia. Therefore, it’s critical that our leaders immediately prioritize COVID-19 vaccine access to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, chronic illness and disease, and all people with disabilities, before the general public.
Please sign here to let your county leadership, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and our Governor know that you want our community prioritized. If you signed a petition asking for vaccine priority last week, this is new. This Call to Action targets elected officials at the county level. They need to hear from us.
Join with the 45 organizations below by demanding that our disability communities become an immediate & higher priority.
In solidarity,
The DDP Team
Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living
Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues
Autism Alliance of MI
Birth Safe
Collective for Disability Justice
Community Treehouse Center Detroit
Detroit Action
Detroit Disability Power
Detroit Jews for Justice
Disability Network Oakland & Macomb
Disability Networks Wayne County
Disability Rights Michigan
Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America
Incompass Michigan
I Love You, Lead On Community
JARC
Michigan Asian American Progressives
Michigan Assisted Living Association
Mental Health Association in Michigan
Michigan Deaf Association
Michigan Deaf Health
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
MI SIBS
Michigan United Cerebral Palsy
Michigan Welfare Rights Organization
Mothering Justice
NAMI Washtenaw
New American Leaders
Oakland Provider Alliance
People’s Water Board
Rising Voices of Asian American Families
Services To Enhance Potential (STEP)
Sibling Leadership Network
The Arc Dearborn
The Arc Detroit
The Arc Grosse Pointe Harper Woods
The Arc of Macomb County, Inc.
The Arc Michigan
The Arc of Northwest Wayne County
The Color of Autism
University of Michigan Graduate Employees’ Organization
Warriors on Wheels
Washtenaw Association for Community Advocacy