COVID-19 Vaccination for People with Disabilities

Internationally, people with disabilities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, accounting for nearly 60% of COVID-19 deaths in the UK and overall higher mortality rates based on social, clinical, and demographic factors. Ontario has prioritized people with disabilities across the three phases of its COVID-19 vaccination program, but there is a difference between availability and accessibility of vaccination. Ontario’s 34 public health units are responsible for leading the local distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and their public facing websites serve as entry points for information on the accessibility of vaccination. On average, these websites contain information about 5 of 18 key accessibility features, across three domains: accessible communication, physical accessibility, and accessible social and sensory environments. Ontario needs a multi-pronged strategy to reach all people with disabilities that includes improving information about communication accessibility, physical accessibility, and social and sensory environment accessibility throughout the COVID-19 vaccination journey. Ontario’s progress on vaccinating people with disabilities needs to also be measured through enhanced data monitoring efforts.