Photo 1: Hanna and her mom, Rissa
Hannah and Ariel are two Canadians living in Quebec. As persons with Down Syndrome in their 40s, they are likely to be more vulnerable to COVID-19.
Their moms, Evelyn and Rissa told us that, like other persons with disabilities, Hanna and Ariel have been neglected during the vaccination campaign in Quebec and other provinces in Canada.
“In Quebec, they rank 8 out of 10 in priority for the vaccine. Letters sent to government officials by advocacy organizations have gone unanswered or even worse, been responded to with nonsense (like being told they have no information about this issue when the information was sent to them with the letter)”.
Photo 2: Ariel and his mom, Evelyn
“Even with a general outcry from the disability community, the Quebec government has not revised their priorities. The Canadian Immunization Committee recently released their revised recommendations for vaccine priorities and the position of people with disabilities had not been raised.”
Evelyn and Rissa recently started a petition-signing campaign asking the Quebec National Assembly and the Canadian Parliament to prioritize persons with Down Syndrome on their vaccination strategy. Around 15 000 people already joined this petition, and the movement is gaining media coverage in the country.
>> Learn more about Persons with Disabilities and Access to COVID-19 vaccination here.
