The Department of Health Service’s State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC) is asking the public to comment on its proposal for the next round of COVID-19 vaccines. The proposal says that people in Family Care and IRIS would be in the next group. It also proposes to vaccinate people in congregate housing (small adult family homes, community based residential facilities and apartment complexes), people over the age of 70, K-12 educators, first responders, prison guards, and people in prison and jail. DRW was represented on the subcommittee that drafted this proposal and strongly supports it, particularly the parts that prioritize people in Family Care and IRIS and the prison and jail populations (which include large numbers of people with mental illness). It is critically important that these groups of people receive the vaccine as soon as possible. We urge all people with disabilities to read the proposal and tell the SDMAC what you think of it. Comments supporting the inclusion of people in Family Care and IRIS and the prison and jail population are very important for the SDMAC to hear. Even if you just write a short note telling the SDMAC that you support what they are proposing, that would help.
For example, you could write:
I support giving the COVID vaccine to people in Family Care and IRIS, and to people who are incarcerated. Both of these groups should be in phase 1b of the vaccine roll-out.
Comments are due by 4:00 pm on Monday, Jan. 18. Instructions for submitting comments are at the beginning of the proposal.