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Position paper: COVID-19 vaccination of autistic people

In order to mark World Health Day, Autism-Europe releases a position paper strongly demanding priority access for the COVID-19 vaccine of autistic people and their families, carers, and support persons.

AE calls the WHO and EU to stress to all member states the need to include autistic people and all people with disabilities in priority groups, putting special emphasis on ageing adults, and autistic people with co-occurring conditions and other disabilities.

Autistic people are people with disabilities, too. Yet, people on the autism spectrum do not always have priority access to vaccination. We deplore that institutions where autistic people are living have become hotbeds for COVID-19 Furthermore, there has been a lack of resources for accessibility of vaccinations. We understand vaccination scepticism as there can always be immunological reactions and side effects to any vaccination as well as varying degrees of effectiveness. Autism-Europe (AE) is aware of divergent opinions about vaccinations in general. The effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine is very high and the chances of experiencing side effects from scientifically proven vaccinations is very low.