Pima County Health Department Pushes Back & Prioritizes this Important Population
We were hopeful (but not optimistic) that ADHS Director Christ would recognize that her decision to go to a strictly age-based approach to prioritize COVID vaccine left persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities out in the cold. Sadly, our advocacy and the advocacy of so many others failed, and it is now clear that she is unwilling to consider adding members AHCCCS’ ALTCS or Arizona Long Term Care System to the list of prioritized persons.
ALTCS members are folks that have a disability (often an intellectual or developmental disability like Down’s Syndrome). Some ALTCS members live in a congregate setting but most receive support services in a home or community-based setting.
For example, many ALTCS members are persons with Down Syndrome. After adjusting for age and sex, ethnicity, BMI, care home residency, and congenital heart disease, research shows that folks with Down’s Syndrome have a 10 times higher risk of death if diagnosed with COVID-19.
There are about about 20,000 ALTCS members between 18 and 54 years old. About 4,000 of them live in group homes (and have had an opportunity to get vaccinated), which means we’re talking about 16,000 vulnerable adults enrolled in ALTCS and living in the community who will now need to wait even longer for an opportunity to get vaccinated.
NEW: VIEW THIS EPISODE OF SUNDAY SQUARE OFF FOR A CONCISE SUMMARY OF THIS INJUSTICE
Even this compelling letter from Representative Cook and many other legislators and this letter from the ADES’ Developmental Disabilities Advisory Council failed to convince Director Christ to help out persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It would have been simple for Director Christ to make this sympathetic gesture. Sadly, she was unwilling to do so and high risk persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities will now need to wait until their age is called to get vaccinated- despite their much higher risks.
UPDATE: The Pima County Health Department Ethics Committee reviewed the current guidance under the Tentative Vaccination Guidance for priority group 1A.3 and advised the Director (Pima County Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen) to include those receiving long-term care services at home. This was subsequently approved. The revised 1A.3 guidance now includes:
Adults 18 years and over, living with disabilities (physical, intellectual/developmental, mental health and /or sensory) and/or high risk medical conditions who are receiving long term care service at home will now be eligible for vaccination.
