DENVER (AP) – Amber Johnson is terrified that her 63-year-old father will get the coronavirus. She has high blood pressure, asthma and is prediabetic, and she worries that she will be especially vulnerable as an inmate in Colorado, where outbreaks in prisons are spreading.
COVID-19 has hit U.S. prisons hard. Social distancing is virtually impossible between bars: inmates sleep nearby and share bathrooms. Masks, hygiene supplies, and safety protocols are often lacking, and many inmates have health problems that make them susceptible to the virus.
Johnson believes a vaccine could be the only hope for his father, Ronald Johnson, who is engaged in stealing, counterfeiting and having drugs.
But in Colorado and most other states, inmates are not close to the COVID-19 initial dose distribution line. Health workers and residents of nursing homes receive the first wave of shootings and many argue that those who break the law, while living in conditions that put them at risk, should not be a priority when many others are vulnerable.
“To think he dies in prison is a horrible thought because from what I’ve heard, if you have a loved one who dies in prison, you only get the remains in a box. They incinerate them and send them home, “Amber Johnson said.” You don’t get a chance to sit next to them and hold their hand. “
Initially, Colorado had inmates in the second phase of vaccine distribution, scheduled for spring, behind health workers and first aid, but ahead of other adults over 65 with health conditions. Prisoners were to be treated like others in collective housing, including homeless shelters and university residences.
But a clamor followed. Denver suburban prosecutor George Brauchler said the plan would have allowed two men convicted of killing Senator Rhonda Fields’ 66-year-old son to be shot in front of her.
“People who murdered her son would get it before she did,” Brauchler said.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis bowed to last week’s criticism, updating the plan to prioritize age and health risks over where people live. Prison employees will still get the vaccine in the second phase, along with first aid.
“Whether you’re in prison or not, if you’re 67 or at risk, wherever you are, you’ll have access to the vaccine when the 67-year-olds have access to the vaccines,” Polis said.
Although Colorado changed course, California, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Utah, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana and Massachusetts have prisoners among the first to get the vaccine this winter. Some states have also taken steps to reduce the risks of COVID-19 behind bars, releasing nonviolent offenders prematurely.
But even in states with more prison outbreaks, inmates often had no plans for early distribution of vaccines.
The five states with the highest number of coronavirus cases in their prisons, according to data collected as part of a joint project by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project (Texas, California, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin), did not include details. on how it would give priority to inmates in their October draft reports to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Michigan has decided to treat inmates like everyone else, vaccinating them based on their age and health issues and not prioritizing them as a group. However, prison and prison workers will be vaccinated along with other essential workers before people 65 and older or 16 and 64 with heart disease and diabetes that can make COVID-19 worse, according to a state plan updated Sunday.
Wisconsin is still deciding which groups should receive vaccines after their first wave of vaccinations. Texas will likely consider prisoners along with other vulnerable populations, but plans are unclear.
Iowa, another state with high prison infection rates, plans to place inmates and those living in state institutions for the disabled ahead of others, but behind health care workers, residents and residential staff .
The federal prison system, one of the first government agencies to receive the vaccine, plans to administer the initial vaccines to staff, not inmates, according to documents obtained by the PA.
For inmate families, the uncertainty is heartbreaking. They are begging state officials to consider the risks of transmission between bars. Medical experts have also suggested that living conditions in prisons require higher priority.
“From a public health perspective, it’s also very important because what we’ve seen is that they’re hot spots,” said Maria Morris, an attorney for the senior staff of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prisons Project. “And people come in and out of prison. There is no way to avoid it. ”
This includes agents, administrative staff, lawyers, and medical and mental health workers.
More than 249,000 inmates have tested positive and nearly 1,700 have died from COVID-19 nationwide. In Colorado prison last week, nearly three-quarters of inmates caught the virus.
Meanwhile, the Colorado ACLU has been fighting for the early release of some prisoners to reduce the risk. Ronald Johnson has turned 22 and was on parole until 2027, but his daughter worries he is still too far away.
Amber Johnson said her father is a nonviolent offender who has leftovers, oversees other inmates, helps the prison church, and coordinates mental health courses. She says she deserves a chance to live, and that means a vaccine for her.
“The time has come,” said Johnson, who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. “It needs to be done urgently before someone dies, and someone will.”