People with intellectual and developmental disabilities suffer greater Covid-19 complications and die at rates three to four times that of non-disabled individuals.

So according to a noted medical ethicist:

“These people are high risk and must be given priority for vaccination.”

Quote and risk information from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/health/covid-developmental-disabilities.html

This high-risk population and the essential workers who support them deserve vaccine priority for at least 4 reasons:

(1) Many of the most severely impaired adults live in congregate settings, which, like nursing homes, have a high risk of infection.

(2) Most of the ID/DD population, regardless of where they live, need therapies and in-person assistance with daily living, increasing the risk of infection for this population and those essential frontline workers who continue to support them in the midst of this pandemic.

(3) Some ID/DD students cannot access remote education and are already back in schools.  And a significant percentage of special education students are minorities or living in poverty.  Giving them and their teachers/support staff vaccine priority ensures that the students furthest from educational justice continue to be educated without interruption.  And

(4) Some ID/DD individuals cannot tolerate mask-wearing.  As a result, they cannot access the vital assistance they need and have been isolated and confined to their homes since March.

If our state is truly committed to ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of its most vulnerable residents, including those furthest from medical, financial, and educational justice, it needs to prioritize the vaccination of the intellectually and developmentally disabled, as well as the caregivers, therapists, and educators who support them.