Stephen Thrasher gave an excellent lecture last week on all of the vectors that interact to create the Viral Underclass. Essentially, these 12 components are all pieces to the puzzle of unequal transmission – those most marginalized are most at risk. The Viral Underclass has always existed, but was especially illuminated in these past two years by government response and rhetoric surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and something I especially noticed was how COVID-19 is discussed as it relates to ableism.

Thrasher writes, “In other words, viruses interact with power structures already at play in our society so that those who are already marginalized are left even more susceptible to danger, exacerbating existing social divides.” He goes to write a chapter on ableism astutely titled “Disability as Disposability.” We have seen the ways in which the world has been created to empower the lives and success of able-bodied people. Being left out of the discussion is a common facet of marginalizing groups, and this has been demonstrated time and time again when discussion surrounding COVID-19 response and perception has left out those most impacted by it’s spread.

A common line that I heard throughout the pandemic was something along the lines of, “Well, it’s only killing people with comorbidities,” as if those lives are somehow of less value and importance. We can balk at the COVID protocols because it doesn’t impact us, accept that COVID is only hurting those groups. I think there is an implied dismissal of life, specifically for people who are immunocompromised or disabled, sending the message that their lives are not worth following protocols for.

I think there is something deeper here, and it’s what Thrasher describes in his book. The common rhetoric of COVID-19 and it’s impact on people with disabilities was accepting, expected, and seemed to be of little concern on the national level. But people with disabilities are 3 times more at risk for death for COVID-19, and that’s not including common intersections like living in poverty or experiencing unemployment. I don’t think people with disabilities faced higher death rates simply because they may have been immunocompromised or had comorbidities; I think unequal and poor quality health access, a societal unwillingness to follow protocols to prevent transmission, and a rhetoric that dismisses the loss of life from your community in the first place put people living with disabilities at such a high risk. To ignore or accept how the pandemic has specifically targeted people with disabilities is to deny them of their humanity, and ultimately, it creates a negative feedback loop of continued marginalization, ostracism, and worse health outcomes.