I scheduled appointments at the Walgreens near our house today for COVID vaccines, and a couple others, for me and the woman I’m a caregiver for. She is disabled. She usually can walk short distances with a walker, but she’s not been doing great recently, so she’s not walking at all. She can stand, and transfer from car to wheelchair or mobility scooter and back, and she insists on driving, because she’s perfectly capable of driving and she has control issues. Anyway, at our Walgreens, they have mobility scooters, because we live in a town that is full of 55+ communities and the median age is probably over 60. So when we got there, she had me go inside and get one of the scooters for her because it’s easier than getting her wheelchair out of the back of the car. We check in for the vaccines, and after a very long wait because they seem to be understaffed today, she’s called back by the pharmacist. The office where they give the vaccines is down a very short hallway (not really even a hallway, the doorway is just recessed) and there is no way to maneuver the mobility scooter to get it in there. The pharmacist said she’d have to get up and walk into the office. We both told him she couldn’t. He said that was the only option. She asked if she could move the scooter right next to the door so he could give her the shot there. He refused. So she didn’t get her shots. I went ahead and got mine, partly because I wanted to ask him a question in private. I went in, and I asked him if he was aware of the ADA, and that they have to provide reasonable accommodations? He didn’t answer, but instead said, “Well she can walk short distances at least because she has to walk from her car to the scooter.” I decided against starting an argument there, but I have rarely been as angry in my life. Not only did he refuse to provide reasonable accommodations to a disabled person, he also questioned her need for the accommodations, and you cannot do that. When we got home, I actually got online and filed a complaint with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. I have no idea if that will go anywhere, but I couldn’t let this go unchallenged.
