By Lety Campos and Daniel Bravo
Daniel Bravo is a young man with Down Syndrome from Mexico. According to Daniel, the Mexican Government has not scheduled their vaccination yet. As stated by Daniel, the Government is vaccinating health personnel and older people but there is no news for persons with Down Syndrome like him.
Photo Description: Collage sent by Daniel, where we can see diverse people holding posters asking for prioritization of persons with Down Syndrome in COVID-19 Vaccination Plans of Mexico.
With the support of his mom, Daniel made some videos and brought together people supporting his advocacy using the hashtag #VacunaSindromeDown (#DownSyndromeVaccine in English)
Video transcription: “Hello doctors, I am Daniel Bravo, I am asking urgently for the vaccine. I want to finish high school and see my friends, I want to work and see my family, grandparents, cousins and uncles. Follow us with the #VacunaSindromeDown”. It is important to highlight that persons with Down Syndrome are particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.
Recent research published in The Lancet assessed the cases of more than 1000 persons with Down Syndrome having COVID-19. The study concluded that “pulmonary complications (pneumonia and acute respiratory syndrome) were more common in individuals with Down Syndrome” and that “individuals with Down Syndrome were more likely to die than individuals without Down Syndrome”. The research also found that, among persons with Down Syndrome who are hospitalized because of COVID, there is “an increased mortality rate from age 40, while in the general population mortality rate increased at age 60” (Hüls, Costa, Dierssen et al., 2021)
Some countries like Switzerland are already including persons with Down Syndrome among the priority COVID-19 vaccination groups.
>> Learn more about Persons with Disabilities and Access to COVID-19 vaccination here.
