Advocacy group Disability Rights Connecticut says Governor Lamont’s new COVID vaccine policy that took effect on April 1 is "unlawful and discriminatory" and places people at increased risk.
Those 16 and older are now eligible to get vaccinated.
Deborah Dorfman is the executive director of Disability Rights Connecticut and said the Governor’s new policy seems image driven.
“It’s hard to believe it's not for a political purpose as well, which is to say 'oh look how fast we got a certain number of people vaccinated.' The problem is that it hasn’t been and continues to be inequitable. It continues to put people who are at the highest risk at risk,” Dorfman said.
The Lamont administration has been criticized about the vaccination rollout for those with medical conditions and disabilities that the CDC say are at higher risk from COVID-19.
“Even for the people who are on the list, the way in which the Governor’s policy is written it doesn’t allow for any guidance to the hospitals or to the public about how the vaccine will actually be prioritized among the groups he has identified and so he’s really left it to the hospitals to decide,” Dorfman said.
Disability Rights Connecticut has filed a complaint about the new policy to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights.
