The Oregon Department of Corrections said on Monday that it had received sufficient doses of the Modern Therapeutics coronavirus vaccine to treat 400 officials and inmates.
The agency said nurses, doctors and prison officials who are in close contact with infected prisoners are the highest priority for vaccines. The state said a small number of inmates whose work assignments involve cleaning units that house infected inmates are also in the high priority group.
Dr. Warren Roberts, the agency’s chief medical director, was one of the first employees of the Department of Corrections to receive the vaccine on Monday. In a note released by the agency, Roberts encouraged all prison and prison staff to get vaccinated as soon as vaccines were available.
“I saw the epidemic firsthand in the prison environment and I know that we need to fight back with all the tools available,” said Roberts. “Some of the worst outbreaks in Oregon have occurred in institutional settings and this virus is not behind prison walls, it spreads to the surrounding community.”
The pandemic has hit penitentiary systems here and across the country. In Oregon, 2,079 inmates tested positive for the virus and 20 died. Another 536 employees also had a positive result.
– Noelle Crombie; [email protected]; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie