Alabamians with disabilities high-risk, but not yet eligible for vaccine

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - There is a contingent of the population that hasn’t been discussed much, who doesn’t know how they’ll get vaccinated.

People with disabilities are uniquely at risk during the pandemic, but many cannot get vaccinated yet.

Under the first phase in Alabama, those who were in nursing homes were vaccinated --- but Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program’s director says there was a blind spot.

“A concern that I have is there’s a group of 19-20,000 Alabamians who under law are in a position similar to those who live in nursing homes,” said James Tucker, Director at ADAP.

Tucker also serves on a statewide vaccine advisory board, and says state health officer Scott Harris is aware.

“One of the real challenges is that we just don’t have enough vaccine. Period,” he said.

There are also people with disabilities who must have a vaccine brought to them, because the risk of leaving home is too high.

“There’s a whole range of persons throughout the state who live at home and may not have been able to leave that home for 11 months,” said Tucker.

Simply put, some vulnerable people have fallen through the cracks.

“We have still to this day, failed to adequately identify those who are truly at greatest risk of harm,” Tucker said.

People with high risk medical conditions are listed in Phase 1C... and we just got to Phase 1B.

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