"Some of us have a lot of health issues that we were born with, along with getting this virus makes it a whole lot worse," Ashley Porter points out in an interview about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of Hoosiers with disabilities. This video draws upon themes that emerged on this topic from remote interviews during 2020 to 2022 with people with disabilities, their families, disability professionals, and policy makers.
Themes included a heightened awareness of health disparities, challenges to mental health, and a stressed system of disability services. Interviewees discuss the state's initially low priority for COVID vaccination of people with disabilities. They describe barriers related to health procedures in both vaccination and testing. "No one thought about people with disabilities, having a setup for people with autism, people with developmental disabilities, people with Down syndrome," observes Ledrena Girton. Deaf people experienced communication barriers due to mask use.
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