VS Code extension chat panel: new assistant messages not auto-announced by JAWS

Description

In the Claude Code VS Code extension's chat panel, new assistant messages are not automatically announced by JAWS (screen reader) as they stream in / arrive. This means a screen reader user has to manually navigate (e.g. arrow down) to discover and read new content, which significantly slows down interactive use.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.217
• Entry point: claude-vscode (VS Code native extension)
• OS: Windows 11
• Screen reader: JAWS

Expected behavior

New messages appearing in the chat webview panel should be automatically read aloud by the screen reader as they arrive, similar to how a live chat/notification region works on the web (e.g. via an aria-live polite/assertive region on the message container).

Actual behavior

Messages render visually but are not spoken automatically. The user must manually move focus/navigate to the new content to have it read.

Additional context

• The CLI has a --ax-screen-reader flag / axScreenReader settings.json option that renders screen-reader-friendly flat text in the terminal. This is a different code path from the VS Code webview chat panel, and does not appear to address the webview's lack of an ARIA live region.
• Requesting either: (a) an aria-live region on the chat panel's message container so JAWS/NVDA/VoiceOver announce new messages automatically, or (b) documentation pointing to an existing setting that already enables this, if one exists.