As of May 2, 2021
COVID-19 vaccination is one of the most important tools to end the COVID-19 pandemic. For up-to-date information on the vaccines and the status of vaccine distribution for disabled people in California, visit our new California COVID-19 Vaccine Resources for people with disabilities webpage.
COVID-19 has impacted the lives of all of us. The virus poses a risk to everyone’s health, and is proving to be especially dangerous for people with certain types of disabilities and chronic health conditions as well as older adults. The pandemic has disrupted our lives and changed the way that we go to school, work, socialize, and more.
Government and private sector responses may also pose additional harm to disabled people if discrimination based on disability results in the denial of healthcare. And, there is a very real possibility that the spread of COVID-19 will result in a drastic reduction of personal assistants available to provide support to disabled people who rely on their assistance with activities of daily living.
This page is dedicated to our own COVID-19 materials and communications, opportunities for advocacy, government information, and helpful resources and will be updated as the situation changes.
DREDF Statements and Resources
- Fighting for Safe Access in a Masks-Optional Healthcare Environment
June 27, 2023 - FAQ – Covid-19, Vaccines, and Californians with Disabilities
As of February 26, 2021 - H. Stephen Kaye, Ph.D, Elevated COVID-19 Mortality Risk Among Recipients of Home and Community-Based Services: A Case for Prioritizing Vaccination for This Population (PDF)
February 11, 2021 - H. Stephen Kaye, Ph.D, COVID-19 Mortality Risk for Recipients of IHSS and DDS Services (PDF)
January 31, 2021 - Prioritizing People with Disabilities for COVID-19 Vaccination
December 28, 2020 - State Medical Rationing Policies and Guidance Project
October 8, 2020 - Questions and Answers on Disability Nondiscrimination in Health Care and Community Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 16, 2020 - Letter from DREDF, Access Living, ACB, AFB, ASAN, RiR, The Arc, and NAD to Transit Agencies Regarding Rear Door Boarding Accessibility
Sent March 30, 2020, Updated April 7, 2020 - Preventing Discrimination in the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability
March 25, 2020 - DREDF Statement on COVID-19
March 22, 2020 - Letter to Governor Gavin Newsom Regarding Healthcare “Rationing” and HCBS
March 20, 2020
COVID-19 and Special Education
- Letter to Governor Gavin Newsom re Supporting Delivery of Special Education Services for Children with Disabilities Upon Schools Reopening
August 24, 2020 - Edición Especial:Nueva ley en California requiere planes de emergencia para los estudiantes que reciben educación especial
31 de julio de 2020 - Special EDition: New CA Law Requires Emergency Plans for Special Education Students
July 31, 2020 - Special EDition: New! US Dept of Education Dispute Resolution During COVID-19 Emergency
June 30, 2020 - EDICIÓN Especial: Jóvenes con discapacidades y el COVID-19: ¡Usted puede hacer la diferencia!
12 de junio de 2020 - Special EDition: Youth with Disabilities and COVID-19: You Can Make a Difference!
May 29, 2020 - Edición especial: COVID-19 y los estudiantes con discapacidades
4 de mayo de 2020
Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights Sheet for Print-at-Home or Download to your Cell Phone
- Download English & Spanish Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights – CA Edition (PDF)
March 28, 2020 - Download English & Chinese Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights – CA Edition (PDF)
March 28, 2020 - Download English & Vietnamese Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights – CA Edition (PDF)
April 5, 2020 - Download English & Korean Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights – CA Edition (PDF)
April 5, 2020 - Download English & Tagalog Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights – CA Edition (PDF)
Coming Soon
Word Templates for Organizational Partners in Other States
- Download English & Chinese Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights (DOCX)
March 28, 2020 - Download English & Spanish Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights (DOCX)
March 28, 2020 - English & Vietnamese Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights (DOCX)
Coming Soon - English & Tagalog Know Your Disability Healthcare Rights (DOCX)
Coming Soon
Disability Community Advocacy and Action
- Open Letter to the California Department of Public Health from Health Care Workers and Public Health Experts (PDF)
February 2, 2021 - COVID-19: Face Masks and People With Disabilities
July 23, 2020 - Know Your Rights in California: Access to Hospital Care During COVID-19
July 1, 2020 - Resolution of Federal Civil Rights Complaint Raises the Bar in Prohibiting Medical Discrimination Against People With Disabilities During COVID-19 Pandemic
June 26, 2020 - Press Release – Advocates on Crisis Standards
June 10, 2020 - Group COVID-19 Language and Communications Access Letter To Congress
June 1, 2020 - Know Your Rights: Hospital Visitation
May 20, 2020 - The ARC, ASAN, Bazelon, CPR, CommunicationFirst, & DREDF: Evaluation Framework for Hospital Visitor Policies (PDF)
May 15, 2020 - Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), #NobodyIsDesposable, and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) Know Your Rights in Health Care During COVID-19 (Video)
Webinar – Recorded April 15, 2020 - DREDF and Community Living Policy Center Partners Author an Emergency Direct Care Conservation Corps Proposal (PDF)
April 28, 2020 - NDRN Launches Indian Health Services & Medical Rationing: Know Your Rights during COVID-19 Video
April 27, 2020 - Letter from Researchers Opposing California’s Health Care Rationing Guidelines (PDF)
April 24, 2020 - Joint Letter Opposing Health Care Providers’ Request for Complete Immunity from Responsibility for Negligent Health Care
April 23, 2020 - Justice in Aging Joint Letter to California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Mark Ghaly (PDF)
April 22, 2020 - Letter From DREDF and Additional Organizations Opposing California’s Health Care Rationing Guidelines
April 22, 2020 - National Association of the Deaf (NAD) – COVID-19: Medical Communication Access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
April 15, 2020 - National Association of the Deaf (NAD) – COVID-19: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communication Access Recommendations for the Hospital
April 15, 2020 - The Arc, ASAN, Bazelon & Center for Public Representation – Evaluation Framework for Crisis Standard of Care Plans (PDF)
April 9, 2020 - Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities – Safeguard Against Disability Discrimination during COVID-19: Fact Sheet for Health Care Professionals (PDF)
- #NoBodyIsDisposable Know Your Rights Guide to Surviving COVID-19 Triage Protocols
April 4, 2020 - Applying HHS’s Guidance for States and Health Care Providers on Avoiding Disability-Based Discrimination in Treatment Rationing
April 3, 2020 - Justice in Aging, DREDF, and Disability Rights CA Letter to the California Health and Human Services Agency Regarding Age Discrimination in COVID-19 Medical Treatment (PDF)
April 3, 2020 - Disability Rights California (DRC) Letter on COVID-19 and People with Disabilities to Governor Gavin Newsom
March 16, 2020 - Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Letter on COVID-19 and Discrimination
March 20, 2020 - CCD and Friends Letter on Transportation Access and Safety During and After COVID-19 (PDF)
March 24, 2020 - CommunicationFirst COVID-19 Communication Rights Toolkit
Staying Safe at Home
Federal Resources
- COVID-19: Considerations, Strategies, and Resources for Crisis Standards of Care in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC) Facilities (PDF)
October 19, 2020 - U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Bulletin: Civil Rights, HIPAA, and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (PDF)
March 28, 2020 - 27 members of the House of Representatives and five Senators today call on Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Attorney General to issue guidance to protect disabled Americans from discrimination during the coronavirus outbreak
March 27, 2020 - Administration on Community Living – Information for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Updated Regularly - Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) Emergency Page
Updated Regularly - CMS Factsheet on Emergency Declaration (PDF)
March 14, 2020 - CMS Guidance to States re Medicaid & CHIP
March 22, 2020
Federal Laws Enacted and Pending
- HR 6074 Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020
March 6, 2020 - HR 6201 Families First Coronavirus Response Act
March 18, 2020
California Resources
- California Department of Public Health Visitor Limitations Guidance
May 2, 2020 - California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) DHCS Redetermination Guidance (PDF)
March 12, 2020 - DHCS COVID Response
Updated Regularly - Guidance Relating to Non-Discrimination in Medical Treatment for Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) (PDF)
March 30, 2020
Media Coverage
- San Francisco Chronicle: California to Rework Coronavirus Ethics Guidelines Deemed “Terrifying”
April 30, 2020 - Los Angeles Times Letter to the Editor
April 30, 2020 - Los Angeles Times Editorial: Who Do We Save From Coronavirus and Who Do We Let Die? Take Wealth, Race and Disability Out of That Brutal Equation
April 25, 2020 - Ethics Talk Podcast: Disability Community Perspectives on COVID-19
April 2020
Other Resources
- Center for Gender and Refugee Studies – Resources to Support Asylum Seekers and Immigrants During the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 17 2020 - Green Mountain Self Advocates Plain Language Guide About COVID-19 Information By and For People with Disabilities English
- Green Mountain Self Advocates Plain Language Guide About COVID-19 Information By and For People with Disabilities Espanol
- National Association of the Deaf Information about COVID-19 in ASL
- National Center for Transgender Equality – Trans People and COVID-19 Toolkit
April 4, 2020 - Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Know Your Rights during COVID-19 Toolkit (PDF)
Social Media
- #WhatWeNeed
- #SeeUsSchumer
- @DREDF
- @autselfadvocacy
- @BazelonCenter
- @_CFILC
- @DisabilityCA
- @NDRNadvocates
- @NCILadvocacy
- @public_rep
- @TheArcUS
- DREDF
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- Bazelon Center
- California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
- Center for Public Representation
- Disability Rights California
- National Council on Independent Living
- The ARC of the US
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