“Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD”

Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology in the Maxwell School, was interviewed for the PBS NewsHour story “Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD.” Landes, an expert on the sociology of disability, has researched the impact of COVID-19 on those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Landes says that the IDD community has been largely ignored by lawmakers and public health experts in terms of getting the COVID-19 vaccine. “It’s not been surprising, on one hand, that states have not prioritized this group, because that’s historically been the case. It’s been disappointing, because the evidence was there pre-pandemic and the evidence is there now that this group is at higher risk,” says Landes.