Screnshot of Twitter from Imani Barbarin saying: "Contrary to popular belief, @CDCDirector , disabled people aren’t just data points. Every life lost was loved by someone, someone’s community member, someone’s friend. How callous to say you’re encouraged by the prospect of their deaths. #MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy"
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#MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy

On January 7, 2022 CDC director Rochelle Walensky made a remark on Good Morning America about deaths from the Omicron variant of Covid that provoked outrage in the disability community: “These are people who were unwell to begin with. And yes: really encouraging news in the context of Omicron.”

In response, disability activist Imani Barbarin created the hashtag #MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy which quickly went viral, sparking wide-ranging conversations about neo-eugenics:

Within a week, on January 14, Walensky met with disability advocacy groups to apologize for her comment, agreeing to regular meetings going forward — a commitment that remains to be borne out.

— Mara Mills