COVID-19 and Disability
摘要
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and subsequently spread worldwide. This global health crisis triggered various discriminatory practices and discourses, including direct anti-East Asian racism and indirect prejudices against certain social, political, and cultural groups. Those affected by indirect prejudices included individuals who already had disabilities and while the pandemic has caused 7.1 million deaths to date, the disease itself has, in many cases, also caused long term physical compromise. Particularly at risk of this were those individuals who had pre-existing health challenges or who were from certain cultural backgrounds, with Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic individuals more severely impacted than White. In addition to these two distinct categories of COVID-related disability, the virus has numerous other implications for disability, which have been extensively studied in scholarship. This entry summarizes these aspects, including topics related to children, ethics, health care, disability employment, disability organizations, intellectual and neurologically challenged disability, communication, mental health, the digital divide, social inclusion, health staff mental health, and “do not resuscitate” notices.