Deaf News: Concerns raised over COVID-19 vaccine communications

Questions have been asked by politicians and campaigners around the accessibility of coronavirus vaccine information, as the UK Government continues its roll-out of the jab.

Deaf presenter Lynn Stewart-Taylor, who founded the #WhereIsTheInterpreter campaign over inaccessible information on COVID-19, is amongst those wondering how Deaf people will be approached with news of the vaccine.

In a post on Facebook, Lynn said: “The NHS will contact people in the priority groups when it is their turn to receive the COVID vaccine.

“How will [the] NHS contact Deaf people?”

Lynn repeated these concerns on Thursday, when herself and disabled activists Fazilet Hadi and Baroness Campbell were amongst those discussing the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s report on the ‘unequal impact’ of COVID-19.

“We have to campaign, we have to keep on going until we face equality. We
need to get an interpreter either on the main channel – or, even better – in the room, so that when it’s transferred on to other social media, the interpreter is still there and BSL is still available.

“Secondly, I think we do need to think about the Government websites as well. We need to find some accessibility and sign language across a range of aspects of the website itself – to do with the coronavirus vaccine [and] to do with the range of health issues.

“We have got a long, long way to go,” she said.

The issue was also raised by fellow panellist Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, who told Disability Rights Advice TV that “we need to make sure that we are not missing anyone” when it comes to vaccine information.

“We need to be communicating the messages about why vaccination is so crucially important to everyone. It’s not good enough to have a vaccine-confident programme that only speaks to the majority because actually, we need people with disabilities, people with language challenges, people with an apprehension about the vaccine for cultural reasons – we need to reach out to all of them.

“So we need to be speaking in different languages. We need to be speaking in culturally competent ways to different communities, and we need to be communicating with people in Braille, in sign language, in large print [and] in easy read,” she said.

Information on the NHS website states that individuals will receive a letter, phone call, email or text inviting them to an appointment when it’s their turn to be vaccinated.

The latest comments on the accessibility of vaccine information came on Thursday, when Lilian Greenwood MP, President of the National Association of Deafened People (NADP) raised the issue in the House of Commons.

Speaking on a debate around the vaccine roll-out, she said: “Clear and timely communications are vital in maximising the take-up of the vaccine. Where people have not responded to an invitation letter, I understand that they will receive a phone call and that phone calls will also be used to ensure that all appointment slots are used.

“Can the Secretary of State assure me that calls will be accompanied by SMS text messages to ensure that deaf people and those with a hearing loss are not left behind?”

Responding to the Labour MP, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the answer is “wherever possible”.

“The truth is that the NHS has not, in the past, collected people’s mobile numbers routinely or their email addresses, hence why this roll-out is primarily being done through invitations by letter.

“I hope that, actually as part of this roll-out, one of the things we will be able to do is make sure that the NHS can put people’s email addresses and mobile numbers on their clinical record, where people consent to that, of course.”

Hancock went on to cite Israel as an example where a large number of people have provided their mobile phone number and email address to the healthcare system, enabling them to contact people quicker.

“Having said all of that, some people will never have a mobile phone and some people will never have email, and this is a universal service – of course it is.

“So letters and texts to those who have poor sight, and ultimately phone calls, including on landlines, or teams going round to people’s doors, are all important to make sure that everybody gets access to the vaccine and can receive the invitation,” he said.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.