By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Vice-chairman of the West Africa Federation of the Disabled, Miss Ekaete Judith Umoh has urged the federal government to develop measures people with disabilities can access awareness programmes of COVID-19 vaccine.
Umoh in a recent interview with NatureNews decried that persons with disabilities are usually not carried along during sensitisation.
She said that people with disabilities lack information about COVID-19 and its vaccines as a result of poor communication channels.
According to her, during the COVID-19 lockdown, people relied on the media for information but people with disabilities were not carried along as they were no provision for sign language especially for the deaf and dumb persons.
Umoh said that some awareness messages were published on leaflets, newspapers and bill boards but the government did not consider the blind ones.
In her words, “the inequality was now very clear,” adding that persons with disabilities couldn’t continue their education during the lockdown even after the government and schools introduced e-learning as most of them couldn’t access it.
Speaking on the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, Umoh also urged that the vaccines should be available to persons with disabilities.
She said, “we don’t want to be rated as the last sector to receive COVID-19 vaccine.
Umoh also urged that government should involve relevant agencies for the sensitization like different associations of persons with disabilities.
The Vice-chairman also appealed to the government to conduct further research on the impact of the vaccine to persons with disabilities as some may be susceptible to it.
“The vaccine is a welcome development. I’m glad that a vaccine has been brought to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
“But Persons with disabilities need to be very much sensitised on the vaccine.
“Some persons react to some medications due to certain kinds of impairments. For example people that have issues with their central nervous system,” she said.