Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD: Scott Landes (CAPS)

an In The Media Appearance

"Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD" - PBS News Hour. 03/31/2021

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities like Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Autism often have underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19. Plus, many receive care in group living facilities, putting them at further risk. But despite the elevated risks for those with IDD, they face an uphill vaccination battle.

Scott Landes is a sociologist and affiliate of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies who studies health outcomes for those in the IDD community. He says people with IDD, conditions like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Rett syndrome, and autism, often have underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19. And that, combined with the fact that many receive care in group living facilities, in close contact with caretakers, puts them at greater risk than the general population.

According to Landes, “Their case fatality rate, we’re finding, is about 1.5 times higher than what we’re seeing in the general population. For people living in these congregate settings, like this residential group home, we’re seeing that the case fatality rate is about three times higher than the general population.”