Disabled community 'left behind' in vaccine rollout one year later

Disabled people are struggling to access or receive reliable information concerning the vaccine.

Hundreds to thousands of calls come in to the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) each week from disabled people across the country with questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, testing spots and more.

As one of the first call centers to focus specifically on the needs of disabled people, the federally funded hotline continues to pick up speed, filling a service previously unmet, according to the line's director Sara Clark. The more people know about it, she says, the more calls they're fielding.

"It's important for people with disabilities to know that they can turn to a trusted source for accurate information," Clark said.

DIAL was created in May 2021 and serviced and supported by national disability advocacy groups.