The Department of Defense on Saturday suspended a plan to give the COVID-19 vaccine to detainees in the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The camp houses about 40 prisoners, including high-value detainees such as the self-described 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The Pentagon paused the program after Republicans criticized it for putting terror suspects in front of vulnerable Americans.
The plan was made public Friday when a Department of Defense spokesman confirmed to CBS News and other outlets that the department would administer COVID-19 vaccines to all detainees on a voluntary basis.
“Vaccines against COVID-19 will be offered to all detainees and prisoners. They will be administered voluntarily and in accordance with the Department’s priority distribution plan,” the spokesman said.
But the announcement was met with strong criticism from Republican Party politicians. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted on Saturday: “President Biden told us he would have a plan to defeat the virus on day 1. He never told us it would be the vaccine to terrorists before most Americans. “
New York Representative Elise Stefanik tweeted that the plan was “inexcusable and anti-American.”
On Saturday afternoon, the Pentagon had reversed course. “No Guantanamo detainee has been vaccinated,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. “We are pausing the plan to move forward as we review force protection protocols. We remain committed to our obligations to keep our troops safe.”
Vaccination guidelines against CDCs say that both correctional staff and inmates have a higher risk of contracting the disease. The CDC recommends inoculating staff and detainees at the same time to help control outbreaks in prison facilities and surrounding communities.
The vaccination plan was authorized by a Jan. 27 note signed by Terry Adirim, the deputy deputy secretary of defense for health affairs at the Department of Defense.
Guantanamo Bay opened in 2002 under former President George W. Bush to house so-called “high-value” detainees. After former President Barack Obama tried and failed during his eight-year term to close the prison camp, former President Donald Trump pledged to keep the facility open.
Five 9/11 suspects are still pending trial at the military base and the schedule has been further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.