COVID-19 & Disability: A Holistic Examination of Pandemic Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate effects on the lives of persons with disabilities generally, and especially pronounced effects on specific subsets of this diverse population, including youth with intellectual, developmental, cognitive, and psychosocial disabilities. For example, a letter published recently in the American Journal of Psychiatry on behalf of the directors of the nation’s intellectual and developmental disabilities research centers underscores the devastating impact the pandemic has had on this population. These effects have been further exacerbated by other cross-cutting issues, including where people reside—either geographically or their type of residence—and how they access formal and natural supports. While many forms of disability-based discrimination, such as accessing ventilators in hospitals and polling places in elections, have been and continue to be explored, this interdisciplinary panel aims to contribute to our constantly-evolving understanding of the pandemic’s effects on persons with disabilities both in the United States and around the world.

Join the conversation or submit questions on Twitter at @PetrieFlom using #COVIDdisability.

Speakers

• Introduction: Alicia Ely Yamin, Senior Fellow in Global Health and Rights, The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School; Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Partners in Health
• Gerard Quinn, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Melissa Mendoza, Special Education Services Project Member, WORLD Policy Analysis Center, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Soumitra Pathare, Director, Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, Indian Law Society (ILS)
• Tony Phillips, Member, Board of Directors, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SANYS)
• Moderator: Michael Ashley Stein, Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability (HPOD)

Sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School; the Harvard Law School Project on Disability (HPOD); and the Global Health and Rights Project (GHRP), a collaboration between the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator (GHELI) at Harvard University.