ARLINGTON, Va. — Now that the omicron variant has been detected in our area, one group is working to make sure people with disabilities get the COVID-19 vaccine by hiring "disability champions."
The group, ENDependence Center of NOVA, is hoping these champions will encourage others in their communities to get the shot and help dispel myths.
“I had a lot of concerns at first, and educated myself on it," Communication Coordinator Laura Halvorson said. "The violent side effects you get are nothing compared to the COVID itself.”
Halvorson has muscular dystrophy and neuromuscular respiratory failure, which is related to muscular dystrophy.
She has avoided contracting COVID-19 but has family members who have been impacted.
“I lost one of the number one person in my family to COVID this year," she said.
The virus has killed thousands of others, too.
A study by Jefferson Health found that having an intellectual disability, in particular, was the strongest independent risk factor other than age for COVID-19 mortality.
“I think it's just good to have a trusted disability network of people they identify in their community as well, that they trust that can try to get that information out there to dispel myths about the vaccines as well," Halvorson said.
She said champions will receive $20 an hour for their work -- part of which they hope includes setting up pop-up vaccination clinics specifically for their networks.
“People with disabilities--like large crowds can be hard or just unable to leave your house to get the vaccinations due to health conditions or transportation issues," Halvorson said. "We can just be really anxious to you know, go in those traditional settings to get vaccinated. Yeah, we just want to make people feel safe and get the vaccine.”
The group's next meeting for champions is on Jan. 12, 2022.
Halvorson said advocates who host the pop-up clinics can receive up to $200 in compensation.
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