Crippen Cartoons cartoons at the cutting edge of disability

Mehrunisha Suleman, Senior Research Fellow at the Health Foundation has responded to the latest statistics on Covid related deaths from the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS).

She said: “COVID-19 has had an unequal impact on disabled people who have been among the hardest hit in terms of deaths from the virus. Worryingly, ONS’ data confirms this trend, showing that 6 out of 10 people who have died with COVID-19 are disabled”. 

She added: “(These) figures clearly show that current measures to protect disabled people are not enough and that there is an urgent need for more and better support. Disabled people are more likely to have one or more long-term health conditions, which means they are at greater risk of suffering severe symptoms if they get COVID-19”.

Ms Suleman also spoke of how, due to lockdown, disabled people’s health care needs are not being fully met and that they have had treatment either cancelled or delayed. She said:

“The high number of COVID-19 deaths among disabled people ultimately reflects wider failures in how the UK supports those who are vulnerable. Addressing this will require the government to address the major and long-standing inequalities that the pandemic has highlighted.’

Further data from the ONS has shown that some 30,296 of the 50,888 deaths recorded for the ten months between January and November 2020 were disabled people.

The ONS also stated that an “important part” of the increased risk was because disabled people were “disproportionately exposed to a range of generally disadvantageous circumstances” compared with non-disabled people.

In other words, unless the government starts to give serious consideration to providing a level playing field for disabled people, it doesn’t say much for our chances of surviving another wave of the Covid virus does it?

Perhaps the first thing to do would be to replace their miserable excuse for the Minister for disabled people, Justin Tomlinson, with someone who has personally experienced the many barriers we face on a daily basis … a disabled person perhaps?!

Description of cartoon for those using screen reading software

Boris Johnson is standing facing the grim reaper who is clad in his usual black, hooded cloak and carrying his scythe. The cloak has covid printed in white at the bottom and on the ground in front of him is a notice that says ‘Covid 19 – 6 out of 10 deaths are disabled people’. Behind Boris is Justin Tomlinson who stands with his thumb raised in the air and with a sycophantic smile upon his face.  Tomlinson is carrying a card which reads ‘no plans developed to protect disabled from covid’. Boris is smiling at the Reaper and is saying to him: “So the deal is – we continue to supply you with disabled people and you leave the rest of us alone?!”