Government put Disabled people at risk in COVID vaccination process

Appearing on behalf of four national Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO) including Disability Rights UK, Counsel Danny Friedman KC criticised discrimination against Disabled People in the vaccine and therapeutics rollout, citing “patterns of repeated disadvantage on a widespread scale”. Mr Friedman KC revealed that the government received proposals from its own Disability Unit in November 2020, which provided “essential practical means for a targeted and effective rollout of vaccines and therapeutics to Disabled people” but that “none of the proposals were developed”

Giving evidence on behalf of national DPO, Kamran Mallick, CEO of Disability Rights UK, spoke of shocking inequalities in the planning and roll out of vaccines and therapeutics. 
Mr Mallick, who previously gave evidence in October 2023 to Module 2 of the Inquiry on political decision making, stated that the inadequate prioritisation and inaccessible delivery of the vaccination programme caused “deep and unnecessary concern amongst Disabled people and their carers, as it was well known that Disabled people had a greater risk of dying from Covid-19”. 

Opening his evidence, he pointed out that despite being almost a quarter of the population, Governments across the UK continually fail to look at the world from Disabled people’s point of view, developing policies and implementation with only non-disabled people in mind. He added that “Over 1.2 million immunocompromised people in the UK for whom vaccines are ineffective, were still shielding as of November 2023, or living restricted lives, with poor mental health” 

Mr Malick stated that the plight of many immunocompromised people could have been avoided had the UK Government purchased the treatment Evusheld. This is a non-vaccine COVID preventative, which would have offered freedom to thousands of people forced to shield. Sharing the story of an immunocompromised person, Mr Malick said “As the country opened and life went back to ‘normal’ for most people, she was acutely aware that the vaccine protection enjoyed by most people was not a safe option for her”.  

In terms of vaccination prioritisation, Mr Mallick highlighted the initial failure to sufficiently prioritise Clinically Extremely Vulnerable adults under 65, the failure to prioritise people with learning disabilities, despite shocking evidence on their disproportionate deaths due to COVID, and the failure to prioritise unpaid carers, who played an even greater role during the pandemic.

In his evidence, Mr Mallick highlighted the inaccessibility of vaccination information and the booking process. He spoke about people with visual impairments being sent inaccessible letters and Deaf people being contacted by phone. He also gave examples of wheelchair users turning up at inaccessible vaccination centres or having to drive miles to visit an accessible venue.
Finishing his evidence, Mr Mallick said “The government failed at every stage to consult with DPO on the vaccine roll out. Had they done so, much of the jeopardy for disabled people in the UK would have been avoided.”

Georgia Bondy - COVID inquiry manager for Disability Rights UK said, “The inquiry is likely to see more evidence of ways that d/Deaf and Disabled people were failed during the vaccine and therapeutics rollout over the coming weeks.”

To watch the ongoing Covid enquiry follow it live on BBC iplayer.