The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a toolkit to help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as their caregivers, learn how to guard against COVID-19.

The pandemic has posed extra challenges for members of the disabled community. In April, we at ADHS were proud to partner with Ability360, The Arc, and the Special Olympics, organizations that empower those with disabilities, to hold vaccination events at the Ability 360 campus.

We also partnered with the Arizona Department of Economic Security’s Division of Developmental Disabilities to coordinate vaccination for its members.

The CDC’s toolkit, developed in consultation with adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as their families, addresses these topics in plain language as stories, posters, and videos:

• Getting a COVID-19 vaccine
• Wearing a mask
• Physical distancing
• The importance of washing hands
• Getting a COVID-19 test
• How caregivers can ease worries about the virus

These materials also are available in Spanish.

Editor’s note: Don Herrington is interim director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. Visit azdhs.gov.