Federal and state governments have failed disabled people like me during the pandemic
I’m the disabled guy on several committees, advising governments what to do to keep people with disabilities safe from Covid-19. I know there are good people who have been working very hard on the policy responses, but it’s time to call it out – governments, both state and federal, and all these committees, are failing disabled people.
I haven’t always felt this way, and back in 2020 I was satisfied by the proactive approach that governments were taking. Listening to advice from the council that I chair and with the support of our minister at the time, the Victorian government established the disability liaison officer program that funded staff across hospitals throughout Victoria to help vaccinate people with disabilities. This program continues to do good work, including providing disabled people with access to a limited supply of rapid antigen tests and helping disabled people with Covid to navigate the hospital system.
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