Overview of responses to the Impact of the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with disability Issues paper (Auslan)

Overview of responses to the Impact of and responses to the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with disability Issues paper

Background

In March this year, we asked people with disability to share their experiences of the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to know how it impacted them.

This video highlights some of the things people talked about in their responses.

What did people say?

People talked about the following:

Disruption to disability services – People said it was hard to access disability support workers due to staff being sick or being unable to attend in person, or appointments being cancelled. Some people had to rely on family members for support instead.

Access to essential health services – People reported problems accessing health care and delays in surgery. Others told us accessing health services via telehealth was helpful when they were sick or couldn’t leave their home.

Infection prevention, vaccination and boosters – People told us they had trouble accessing personal protective equipment as well as rapid antigen tests (RATs), that vaccination sites were often not accessible and that in-home vaccinations were hard to arrange.

Barriers to accessible information – People said public health advice and information was always changing and was not always accessible. For example, health updates provided on social media that were not compatible with screen reading software.

Fear and isolation – Many people experienced anxiety, fear and poor mental health. Others had good experiences as they could connect with other people online.

Lack of consultation – People said governments did not consider the needs of people with disability when mandating restrictions, implementing vaccine requirements or providing information. Lots of people agreed that people with disability, their families and advocacy organisations felt underrepresented and did not have opportunities to consult with governments.

Children and young people – Some people said children felt supported by government and school when they provided RATs and introduced vaccinations for children. Others reported negative impacts with the very quick transition to online learning and the lack of reasonable adjustments to support children.

Data – People reported that governments did not collect specific data on people with disability during COVID-19.

Emergency responses – Many people said they had problems accessing their assistive technology, disability support, food and vaccinations.

Proposals for change

People proposed changes. These included:

• funding for disability advocacy organisations during national emergencies

• direct support for people with disability and their families during pandemics so they can access care like mental health support, household basics like food and medication, and continued in-home and emergency respite care

• continued government funding for telehealth services

• accessible booking systems and services for vaccines and boosters, and in-home vaccinations for people who need them

• consultation with peak disability organisations and the disability community on all areas of pandemic planning and decision-making

• improved data collection during COVID-19 and future health pandemics.

More information

You can find more information on our website.

Go to the ‘Policy & research’ section and click on ‘Issues papers’.

www.disability.royalcommission.gov.au