Disability advocates call for better access to COVID rapid tests and information
Posted Jan 12, 2022 7:49 pm.
Last Updated Jan 12, 2022 7:58 pm.
From tiny printed instructions to not being able to physically get rapid tests, people living with disabilities are being overlooked during this pandemic.
With a lack of PCR tests available to the public, many rely on at-home rapid tests to figure out if they have a COVID infection. But these at-home science tests aren’t easy for everyone to use. Let alone read the final result if you have any vision impairment.
“Everything from reading instructions that come on a piece of paper — for someone who is blind that is not accessible,” said Christall Beaudry, vice-president of CNIB in Western Canada.
“It is very faint. So it is very hard to see whether it is a negative or positive result.”
RELATED:
- Albertans urged to stay home as PCR tests become limited and rapid tests are scarce
- Alberta shatters single-day COVID-19 case record, active infections surpass 60K
But this is if you can get your hands on some rapid tests – which quickly became unavailable after select pharmacies across the province had received stock in December.
“Snow already creates a barrier for people living with disabilities trying to get out, and then to try to get out and compete or wait in line to access the rapid tests,” explained Sean Crump, CEO of Included by Design. “It’s not just fighting [the] cold, it is overcoming the barriers to get in that lineup in the first place.”
Crump says simple and effective communication from the government and agencies could help address many of these barriers.
“Maybe it’s as simple as a QR code on the packaging that drives you to a video with instruction. Or a way to easily identify locations that have rapid tests that are accessible to people.”
Crump adds these ideas should extend to vaccine information as well, saying: “a lot of people are missing pertinent information to their well-being because it is not delivered in an accessible manner for them to receive it.”
Crump hopes that as we head into our third year of the pandemic, governments and agencies and the public realize the opportunity in front of them to serve these populations better.
“More often than not, the solutions are rather simple.”
