04/12/2021
Disability rights limitedly appear in Pandemic Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Plans (PPRRP) in many countries in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam and Indonesia, guidelines to protect People with Disabilities (PwD) were available at the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. But specific vaccination guidelines are presently scarce. Although many want to be vaccinated, PwD are unclear about which vaccine is safe for them. While ubiquitous on digital and social media platforms, vaccine-related information is often generic and rarely addresses specific health conditions of PwD. In response, our research project aims to model vaccination-related information from social media posts and identify online and offline sources that PwD use.
Based on this, we will develop information hubs that combine social media and non-social media platforms to increase vaccine uptake among PwD. The hubs will connect PwD with reliable information sources, medical practitioners, and become spaces where PwD can share their concerns and experiences before and after vaccinations, in addition to understanding reasons of those who reject vaccinations. In broader terms, this research project will contribute to harnessing the usefulness of social media for mitigating vaccine hesitancy resulting from limited availability of vaccination guidelines. Thus, gradually mainstreaming disability rights in PPRRP and strengthening protections to PwD in Southeast Asia.
