Part I of Disproportional Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on People with Disabilities

This is Part I of this conversation. Part II will be released next Monday.

As the number of coronavirus cases in the US tops 6.8 million and the number of deaths from Covid-19 tops 200,000, we spend today's show looking at the disproportionate effects the pandemic is having on older adults and people with disabilities. We've all heard the harrowing stories in the media about some of the early coronavirus hotspots being nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, but we wanted to go deeper. According to the CDC, 94% of people who died from Covid-19 in the US had at least one other health condition or contributing cause of death. What does that mean for the disability community and for older adults?

We are also seeing other ways in which the pandemic is impacting the lives of people with disabilities and older adults. Many are experiencing a disruption in community-based long term services and supports, the services which enable so many of us to live in our communities and get the help we need to do so. We're seeing how the transition to online learning is working really well for some students with disabilities but is leaving others behind. With unemployment numbers soaring, we're seeing people with disabilities being laid off or furloughed at much higher rates than people without disabilities, and once they are laid off, they are having a much harder time finding new work, as compared to their nondisabled peers. And perhaps most strikingly, as the CDC data suggest, we are seeing that the toll that the coronavirus takes on the body can be much more severe for people with underlying health conditions.

The list goes on, and we will get into all of this in a moment, but first we want to introduce you to our guests. We're joined by a roundtable of people from here in Nevada County and across the country who are looking at this issue from multiple perspectives.