Angela was wearing a mask and gloves, but in her work, social distancing would simply be neglect. She was a “direct support professional,” the caregivers who made it possible for tens of thousands of people with disabilities to be moved out of large, impersonal institutions and into humane, home-based care.

The pandemic had transformed these poorly paid caregivers into essential workers who risked their lives to protect the disabled from a virus that could easily kill them. But while state and federal funding has poured into hospitals and nursing homes, those who care for the disabled have been repeatedly snubbed. The agencies they work for have had to cut staff, end programming, beg for promised Medicaid reimbursements and scramble for personal protective equipment. No one is keeping track of how many direct support professionals across the country have become infected or how many have died.

And still these caregivers — mostly women of color making near minimum wage — showed up each day, hoping they wouldn’t have to make the call that Angela and her colleague were placing now.

“911, what’s your emergency?” a dispatcher answered.

In her mask, Angela drove the group home’s wheelchair transport van to Sentara Hospital in Woodbridge, the feverish resident strapped in behind her, medically unable to wear a face covering. Hours later, still unsure whether the resident had the coronavirus, Angela drove her back home.

The nonprofit that ran the group home, the Arc of Greater Prince William County, dropped off the supplies they had stockpiled for a moment like this. They had no N95 masks, only KN95s, the less-reliable Chinese-made filtering masks that didn’t fit as tightly. They had so few gowns that the caregivers would eventually wear 55-gallon garbage bags instead. But they did have one item that the pandemic had made near impossible to find: canisters of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.

a group of nonprofits focused on ageing and lowering health care costs to seniors.

The analysis was evaluated only by an academic reviewer and has not been published in a scientific journal.

Fair Health set out to identify who is at greatest risk for dying of Covid-19 by reviewing health claims from nearly half a million Americans of all ages filed from April 1 through Aug 31, said Ms Robin Gelburd, president of the organisation.

“What we find particularly new is the identification of developmental disorders and intellectual disabilities really surfacing to the top in terms of linkages between these categories of comorbidities and the risk of death,” Ms Gelburd said.

work, shop and get a break from caregiving demands, which in some cases can mean total care (feeding, dressing, bathing) 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, some services cannot be offered or are offered at limited capacity, leaving caregivers to balance work and their own self-care without the level of services and supports they experienced before COVID-19. For those people with IDD living in group homes or institutions, families may be limited in their ability to visit their loved one, and some are not allowed to visit in-person at all.

With the holiday season upon us, people with IDD, their families and their caregivers need your love and support more than ever. If you know a family or caregiver of a person with IDD, reach out to show you care. Offer to help with grocery shopping, laundry or shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. Or maybe just be a listening ear when times are especially stressful and tough. If you know a person with IDD, call or FaceTime to say hello and ask how they are doing. Take a few minutes and engage them in a virtual game of checkers, watch their favorite video, or read them a section from their favorite book. Advocate for them. Help them advocate for themselves. Make sure their rights to equal education, full inclusion in their communities, and ability to make decisions are enforced and respected.

“The widespread closure of schools has significantly impacted the well-being of children in general and this population in particular,” said Jason Newland, MD, co-principal investigator of the grant and a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. He has advised multiple school districts in Missouri on plans for reopening schools.

“It is a major priority to get children with disabilities back into the schools while providing a safe environment for the students and staff,” said Newland, who treats patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “A key component of achieving this goal in this vulnerable population is ample testing that can rapidly detect COVID-19 infections within the school community.”

The saliva test provides easy and fast testing with same-day results, ideal for screening large communities. It was developed by the School of Medicine’s Department of Genetics and the McDonnell Genome Institute, in collaboration with a biotechnology company.

according to Elizabeth Daly, chief of the infectious disease control bureau at DHHS, who is overseeing vaccination preparations for the agency. The vaccines are expected to be available at no cost.

Daly said Pfizer expects to seek Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine in the next week or so, and it will likely take another couple of weeks for the Food and Drug Administration to give its approval.

“The timeline we’ve been working with is early December,” Daly said. “It could all happen faster. There’s a will to get this stuff out to the public.”

DHHS plans to set up vaccination sites through the state’s 13 Regional Public Health Networks, with those sites providing around 100 vaccinations an hour.

Providers of services to those with developmental disabilities are facing a number of other issues, as well. Day programs closed in March as the pandemic first took hold. Although the programs have returned, social distancing and various other requirements, as well as fears surrounding COVID-19, have limited participation.

Group homes for those who have disabilities -- like nursing homes and long-term care units -- were closed to visitors under state orders beginning in the spring. The residential facilities have since reopened for visitation, with some restrictions, though the recent spike in coronavirus cases and the upcoming holiday season combine to present another dilemma for providers, as increased interactions between clients and family members seem inevitable.