Trending Topics

Indiana prisons, jails to receive coronavirus vaccine in Phase 2 of plan

The rollout will depend on the quantity of doses made available to the state

COVID vaccine vials 20201221-AMX-US-NEWS-INDIANA-PRISONS-JAILS-TO-RECEIVE-IN.jpg

A supply of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are brought to the vaccination clinic for use at Franciscan Health Indianapolis, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.

Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

By Elizabeth DePompei
The Indianapolis Star

Before the coronavirus vaccine will be made available to the general public, there’s another group expected to get access: persons working or living in jails and prisons.

In the state’s vaccination plan draft, prison and jails, along with other congregate settings such as homeless shelters, would receive doses in Phase 2.

That’s after health care workers, long-term care facility staff and residents, and populations at high risk of morbidity and death. Those groups can receive the vaccination in Phases 1A and 1B.

In Phase 3, the vaccination can be distributed to the general public.

The state started administering the vaccine on Monday when six health care workers in Fort Wayne received their first doses. Fifty hospitals and clinics expected to receive 55,575 Pfizer vaccine doses by Friday. An estimated 400,000 health care workers statewide are eligible for the first round of vaccines.

As to when the next group of people — jail and prison staff and residents — will receive the vaccine is unknown. Indiana’s draft does not include dates, as much of the rollout will depend on the quantity of doses made available to the state.

“Additional groups will be added as more vaccine becomes available,” an Indiana State Department of Health spokesperson told IndyStar.

“We have worked closely with the ( Indiana) Department of Correction throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so as additional information and allocations become available.”

As of Tuesday, more than 1,300 IDOC employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, and three have died, according to the agency’s online dashboard. More than 2,900 offenders have tested positive and 42 have died.

Earlier in the week, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana wrote a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb asking that vulnerable communities, including those inside prisons and jails, be given priority for the vaccine.

“Like people in congregate and long-term care settings, people held in prisons and jails are in grave danger and have a heightened need for vaccine access, thus, prisons and jails should be prioritized comparably,” ACLU of Indiana Executive Director Jane Henegar said in a statement to IndyStar.

“In addition, Indiana officials must consider that individuals living in jails and prisons have higher rates of disability and chronic health issues putting them at heightened need for vaccine access.”

State health officials would not provide more details beyond what’s in the draft plan.

IDOC spokesperson David Bursten said the general plan is to “protect those with the most risk of exposure, prevent them from giving it to vulnerable populations, and to reinforce our frontline workforce by preventing illness.”

Bursten noted that IDOC facilities provide the flu vaccine annually, “so the processes are already in place.”

The goal would be to offer the coronavirus vaccine to all IDOC staff, around 5,300, and all incarcerated people, of which there were more than 24,000 as of Nov. 1, according to Bursten.

“We will continue to stay in close contact with the ISDH as more information becomes available about future planning of vaccine distribution. Once finalized, we will have a plan that is anticipated to be public facing.”

While IDOC performs annual inspections of county jails, they do not oversee operations. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the county jail, is waiting on more direction from the Marion County Public Health Department, according to a spokesperson.

“However, the Jail’s medical provider, Wellpath, is taking steps to prepare for distribution when the vaccine becomes available.”

Wellpath has not provided answers to IndyStar’s questions.

MCPHD deferred questions to the state health department until the next round of vaccines is announced.

(c)2020 The Indianapolis Star

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU