The state of Oregon will offer coronavirus vaccines to prisoners before the elderly, after a federal judge ruled that prisoners should be included in the state’s Phase 1A vaccination round.
A representative from Governor Kate Brown’s office said the government would not contest the decision.
OREGON COVID-19 VACCINE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS BREED-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT ROUND
“The court’s decision is clear and the state has decided not to appeal,” Charles Boyle, a spokesman for the governor’s office, told The Oregonian by email on Wednesday.
The decision came in a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Justice Resource Center on behalf of seven inmates. Court documents say that by February 1, 3,392 adults in custody (AICs) had tested positive at 14 of the Oregon Department of Corrections’ facilities – 27% of all prisoners, according to The Oregonian – with 42 deaths.
US Judge Stacie Beckerman ruled that postponing vaccinations violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments, despite recognizing that prison inmates and prison staff “did not readily accept the masking recommendations.”
CORONAVIRUS VACCINE DISTRIBUTION PLANS: STATE BY STATE
Beckerman pointed out how the correction team was already included in Phase 1A. Although the state claimed that this made more sense, since officials were the main source of infections in prisons and there are fewer of them to vaccinate, the court disagreed.
“Simply put, Defendants are well aware of the risks of serious harm to both correctional officers and AICs and have chosen to protect employees only. This inaction indicates deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm,” said Beckerman.
According to the decision, prisoners in penitentiary institutions will be included in the Phase 1A group that already included residents and employees in long-term care institutions.
“This court decision will serve to protect thousands of Oregon residents in prison and will be a great relief to them and their loved ones,” said the Oregon Justice Resource Center, according to KDRV.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
All groups included in Phase 1A were already eligible for vaccines in late 2020. Certain individuals in Phase 1B, such as child care providers, as well as teachers and school staff in grades K-12, were eligible from January 25 . The Phase 1B group, people aged 80 and over, will not be eligible until February 8. Other seniors will not be eligible until late February or early March. Elderly in care facilities covered by Phase 1A are already eligible.
Boyle said that although Phase 1A may now take longer to complete, Phase 1B must still begin on time. He qualified this, however, remembering that this is subject to the availability of inputs that the state receives from the federal government.