CVS has agreed to make its COVID-19 vaccine registration website accessible for people with disabilities as part of a settlement with the Justice Department.
In an April 11 statement, the Justice Department said CVS will conform its web content about COVID-19 vaccines to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a set of voluntary industry guidelines for making website information accessible to those with disabilities.
The Justice Department said it found the company's vaccine registration portal was not accessible to people who use screen reader softwares or have trouble using a mouse.
Accessibility issues included not audibly reading the different types of vaccine appointments offered for screen readers uses; incorrectly telling users all available appointment times were checked; and not being able to navigate past the insurance request in the registration process using the keyboard instead of a mouse, according to the Justice Department.
"Now more than ever, we must ensure web accessibility for people with disabilities seeking access to critical needs and services," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "We are working aggressively to identify and remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from privately and independently securing potentially life-saving COVID-19 vaccines."
This marks the fifth such settlement, following previous agreements with Rite Aid, Hy-Vee, Kroger and Meijer.