Disabled women 11 times more likely to die of coronavirus, making it far from an “equaliser”

TW: Mentions the death of a disabled woman.

Madonna, the world-famous Queen of Pop, filmed a message for her followers during the early stages of the pandemic.

Shared by thousands of fans across Twitter and Instagram, Madonna explained that coronavirus “doesn’t care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell.”

Yet for thousands of citizens across the globe, her next point became the source of contention, leading many to label her video as ‘tone deaf’. Madonna explained:

“It [coronavirus] is the great equaliser, and what’s terrible about it is what’s great about it… if the ship goes down, we’re all going down together.”

It goes without saying, Madonna released this video with good intentions. However, as Boris Johnson set out plans to relax lockdown measures on July 4th, the UK is starting to comprehend just how badly coronavirus has affected the most vulnerable members of our community. In short, the comparison of coronavirus to an ‘equaliser’ could not be further from the truth.

At the end of March this year, a common phrase seemed endemic amongst reports in the media: “underlying health conditions.” While the Government advised 2.2 million individuals in the UK to shield, individuals with life-limiting disabilities have remained vulnerable. A large proportion of people who have died of coronavirus have  hadconditions which made them ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ (CEV).

Stark figures suggest the coronavirus is far from the ‘great equaliser’. A third of all lives lost to coronavirus in the UK have been those of disabled people. Worse still, women with life-limiting disabilities have been 11 times more likely to die from coronavirus than non-disabled women.

“She took everything on the chin.”

Of course, these numbers translate into stories. For people like Rosa Lloyd*, 42, the impact of coronavirus has hit hard. After all, she lost her twin sister to the virus.

“Madonna was Lizzy’s biggest role model,” Rosa explained to Empoword Journalism. “Every cassette, every record; there was no difficulty picking out gifts for her during Christmas because it was easy.”

“But aside from her music, Lizzy admired her spirit. She loved her kindness, and her words felt like a way of life to her. Lizzy looked up to her – deeply.”

Rosa and Elizabeth Lloyd*, 42 years old, were born and raised in Woodchurch, a housing estate situated on the Wirral.

As the years passed, it became clear that Elizabeth struggled with several conditions – including asthma, Ehler-Danlos Syndrome and leukaemia. 

Rosa said: “Lizzy had it tough.  She grew up disabled, then she was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2017.  Still, none of it fazed her.

“As a disabled woman, she took everything on the chin; she got on with things. I was always so proud of her.”

In May 2019, after numerous bouts of chemotherapy, Elizabeth discovered her cancer was finally in partial remission. As a reward, she booked front row seats for Into the Groove at Liverpool Empire Theatre; a tribute show to her role model.

After watching the show, Elizabeth phoned her sister.

Rosa said: “The first thing she said when she got back was, ‘I am rebooking that for next year! That will be my reward for beating leukaemia!’ We had a laugh. Mum and I promised we would go along with her. It lifted Lizzie’s spirit. From that point on, she was determined to pull through it.

“Little did we know that, a year later, we’d be organising her wake.”

“When people tell me coronavirus makes us equal, I remind them that my sister was never equal.”

Sadly, Elizabeth passed away late in March. Three weeks before her death, she presented with coronavirus symptoms.  Her doctors and carers prompted her to self-isolate at home.  However, Elizabeth’s condition deteriorated and she was sent to hospital. Her family were not allowed to visit.

Elizabeth’s death took place when the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK hard. The ‘peak’ death rate for coronavirus took place between March 2nd and May 15th.  During this period, 33,998 people died after contracting coronavirus. Like Elizabeth, 10,430 people had life-limiting disabilities.

Rosa feels that coronavirus pinpointed the inequalities and hurdles Elizabeth faced in her life.  She is also calling on the Government to focus on protecting CEV individuals.

Rosa explained to Empoword Journalism: ” Madonna’s right in a way – coronavirus does not care if you’re rich, you’re famous, or if you’ve got a disability. But we cannot deny that it has hit disabled people very, very hard. No one is immune to it. 

“She felt very isolated.  We feel, during the coronavirus, Lizzy was just a little bit’ less equal’ than others. Her treatment in hospital was second-to-none and the nurses were fantastic.  But the nurses were not valued.  All this meant Lizzy lost out on vital care. 

“In the end, she felt that her life was less valuable. She felt expendable, and when people tell me that coronavirus makes us equal, I remind them that my sister was never equal.”

What does the data mean?

What makes matters worse for the UK’s disabled community is that our current figures may not reflect the true impact of the pandemic. In fact, according to the ONS, the data detailing the number of coronavirus related deaths is likely to be an underestimate. Depending on the constituency, coronavirus deaths are recorded differently.  This means not every person with a life-limiting disability is recognised.

Furthermore, existing health conditions may have worsened, and reported disability amongst men and women tends to increase with age.

Numerous organisations have panned the idea that coronavirus disadvantages everyone equally.  

Disability Rights UK’s Head of Policy, Fazilet Hadi, told Empoword Journalism that, contrary to Madonna’s claim, coronavirus is far from “the great equaliser”.

Mr Hadi said: “We said at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis that disabled people must not be allowed to become cannon fodder.

“A fifth of this country’s population is disabled, but a third of all deaths have been disabled people’s. The spread of this virus has amounted to a cull upon our community.

“The Government called us vulnerable. The Government made us vulnerable.”

Is coronavirus ‘the great equaliser’?

In light of our shared humanity, it is true that nobody is immune to coronavirus. Anyone could catch it, regardless of location or stature. Still, the assumption that coronavirus is a ‘equaliser’ is dangerous, especially for the UK disabled community. Adages like this subvert solidarity, leaving disabled individuals feeling isolated in a time of crisis.

To combat this, we must adopt an intersectional approach to protect the vulnerable.  It is clear some people have fallen through the cracks, and they have to be our priority.  After all, none of us are truly safe until we’re all safe.

April Ryan

Featured image courtesy of AbsolutVision on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.