NBCUniversal Prioritizes Disability Representation and Pledges to Audition Disabled Actors | Harmers Bazar
The studio has committed to making their productions more inclusive.
Essential workers get lost in the vaccine scrum as states prioritize the elderly | The Washington Post
As a warehouse manager at a Food 4 Less in Los Angeles, Norma Leiva greets delivery drivers hauling in soda and chips and oversees staff stocking shelves and helping customers. At night, she returns to the home she shares with her elderly mother-in-law, praying the coronavirus isn’t traveling inside her.
Older Americans are trying to get vaccinated. They’re up against harsh inequities. | ABC News
There are flaws in octogenarians navigating a complicated online vaccine system.
More Older Americans Stay on the Job. Working From Home Helps | Bloomberg
The pandemic is extending the trend of older Americans working longer — and giving up long commutes is part of the reason. Today, roughly 1 in 5 adults aged 65 and older remain on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the mid 1980s, the ratio was closer to 1 in 10.
Sundance 2021 Knows Accessibility Is a Problem and Set Out to Change It | Indie Wire
What’s most important about enjoying Sundance this year is how it shows the ease with which disabled people can be included.
‘4 Feet High,’ VR, and the Ways Disability Narratives Can Be Told | Indie Wire
You don’t need to gussy it up with VR to get people to care about this Sundance story.
Biden’s sign language interpreter has translated far-right misinformation
In this Washington Post Article, people question whether interpreters can leave their politics at the door.
New COVID-19 Cases Plunge 25% or More as Behavior Changes \ U.S. News & World Report
Experts say the factors involved in the drop are likely behavior-driven.
2020: The Year The Conversation Around Disability Business Inclusion Shifted | Forbes
2020 will go down in history for several reasons, with COVID-19 catalysing truly unprecedented changes to the way that we live and work globally. Many of these seismic shifts in the way our lives are carried out in the face of the pandemic – working from home, extended periods of isolation – have also had a knock-on effect on the rhetoric around disability inclusion. In addition to working life, the strain on the health system has seriously compounded the daily experiences of persons with disabilities.
How to Get a Covid-19 Vaccine: a State-by-State Guide | The Wall Street Journal
Each state is different, with some allowing residents to pre-register and others coordinating via employer or local health department
Aging in Quarantine? It’s Been Fast and Furious | Wall Street Journal Magazine
I feel like I’ve aged six years in six months. These days, it’s a statement often repeated among friends and heard by dermatologists. Can we chalk it up to quarantine exhaustion, or has lockdown actually done something to speed up the aging process on our skin? “I’m hearing more complaints about accelerated aging in my practice than ever before,” says Whitney Bowe, a New York City–based dermatologist and author of The Beauty of Dirty Skin. “It’s very similar to what I used to see when there was a death in the family or a divorce and patients would come in and say, ‘I feel like I aged five years overnight.’ Now we’re seeing that with Covid.”
A big hurdle for older Americans trying to get vaccinated: Using the internet | Vox
Not all seniors have what’s needed to quickly snag a vaccine appointment: a computer and an internet connection.
Biden’s Pandemic Plan Might Just Work | The New Yorker
It is hard to overstate the scale of the pandemic in America. On many days, a quarter of a million Americans become newly infected with the coronavirus, and four thousand die—numbers that dwarf the deadliest moments of last spring. The country’s covid-19 death toll has passed four hundred thousand and, according to Joe Biden’s chief of staff, will reach half a million in February; at any given time, more than a hundred thousand Americans are hospitalized with covid-19, and health systems are running out of space, equipment, and personnel. Meanwhile, a new coronavirus variant, thought to be fifty per cent more transmissible and possibly thirty per cent more deadly than the original, has been discovered in at least nine states. The U.S. has no genome-sequencing or reporting system in place, so it’s impossible to say just how widespread the new variant is, or whether other, more dangerous strains are already in circulation. In any event, the sheer contagiousness of the new version means that the death toll is almost certain to rise further and faster.
A Hashtag Invites Disabled People To Claim Their Disabilities With Pride | Forbes
In November 2020, disabled activists Karli Drew and Charis Hill started a new Twitter hashtag for and about disabled people: #BeingDisabledDoesDefineMe.
Surge of Student Suicides Pushes Las Vegas Schools to Reopen | The New York Times
Firmly linking teen suicides to school closings is difficult, but rising mental health emergencies and suicide rates point to the toll the pandemic lockdown is taking.
New Survey Shows Americans Feel Covid Mental Health Crunch More than Other Developed Countries \ Cheddar
Conversations around covid-19 mainly circle around physical health and how the virus affects your body. But what about your mind? Experts say there’s a mental health crisis coming hand-in-hand with the pandemic, and that Americans feel it more acutely than other high-income countries. Reggie Williams, Vice President of the International Health Policy and Practice Innovations at The Commonwealth Fund, joined Cheddar to discuss the results of his new survey.
Parents With Disabilities Face Extra Hurdles With Kids’ Remote Schooling | NPR
The Americans with Disabilities Act says schools have to help not just students but parents with disabilities, too, like making sure deaf or blind parents can communicate during parent-teacher conferences. But what happens when kids are learning at home? That’s uncharted territory.
Biden moving forward with placing Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill | NBC News
The Trump administration said in 2019 that the new bill would be delayed for years because of technical issues.
Covid, Aging Parent Loneliness And What You Can Do To Stop The ‘Sweetheart Scam’ | Forbes
Covid restrictions for those over 65 have remained in place for months in most places. Widowed aging parents may have no one to touch them, be with them, or pay much regular attention to them. Some seek company on the internet. Dating sites for those over 50 years of age are out there, and your aging loved one just might want to give one of those sites a try, motivated by isolation. Know the risks if you have an elder in your family who is lonely and seeking company on the net.
Biden Repeals Trump-Era Ban On Transgender Troops | NPR
President Biden has repealed a controversial Trump-era ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military. Biden signed an executive order on the issue Monday morning, ahead of an Oval Office meeting with new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Vice President Harris.
Cloris Leachman, Emmy and Oscar Winner, dies at 94 | Twitter
According to multiple reports, Cloris Leachman, whose acting career spanned over 70 years and included an Academy Award-winning role in “The Last Picture Show,” has died at the age of 94. People shared messages of condolences following the news of her death.
Black History Month
February marks our annual recognition of African American History and the important contributions African-Americans have made and continue to make in our communities, society and lives. This month for every day of Black History Month we will be highlighting some of the Black Disability voices that we follow. Join us on twitter at https://twitter.com/mydfi_nab to see who influences us!
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