Michigan Expands access to COVID vaccines

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

From the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services:

Following the announcement of a ramped-up effort by the Biden Administration to produce enough doses to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of May, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced that it is expanding vaccination eligibility beginning 3/8/21:

“MDHHS is moving forward with the vaccination of Michiganders age 50 and older with medical conditions or disabilities and caregiver family members and guardians who care for children with special health care needs. Beginning Monday, March 22, vaccine eligibility will again expand to include all Michiganders 50 and older. To date, more than 40% of Michiganders age 65 and older have been vaccinated.” 

"All vaccine providers may begin vaccinating the two new priority groups of 50 and older with medical conditions or disabilities and caregiver family members and guardians who care for children with special health care needs by Monday. Those eligible to receive a vaccine should:

• Check the website of the local health department or hospital to find out their process or for registration forms; or
• Check additional vaccination sites, such as local pharmacies like Meijer, Rite Aid or Cardinal Health (U.P. residents); or
• Residents who don’t have access to the internet or who need assistance navigating the vaccine scheduling process can call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. or can call 2-1-1.”

All this depends on vaccine availability that is increasing but has not yet kept up with demand.

*************
People living in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and licensed group homes, along with staff, have been a priority in Michigan. Washtenaw County is also vaccinating people with severe disabilities, along with their caregivers and family members, who live in their own or their family’s home. 

For people with developmental disabilities who are eligible for Medicaid-funded Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), their eligibility is based on their need for an institutional level of care (meaning a nursing home or an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities - ICF/IID), but they choose to receive those services at home. 

In other counties where vaccinations have not been made available generally for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I think there is a good argument for asserting rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act that prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities - in this case, people with the same eligibility for institutional services who choose to live in their own or their family’s home. Their risks of contracting COVID and the probability of severe complications are likely as high as for those who live in nursing homes and have been a priority for vaccination. Why should they not be considered a priority because they live at home and not in a long-term care facility?