A federal judge in Oregon has ordered the state prison system to inoculate every inmate who wants to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The order, the first in the nation, comes as many states have declined to make vaccinating prisoners a priority, even though severe virus outbreaks inside prisons have been common (article available here).
The federal magistrate judge granted a temporary restraining order as part of a larger case by a group of prison inmates. They’ve criticized the state’s response to the pandemic inside prisons and argue it’s violated the U.S. Constitution. “From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that our country’s prisons were uniquely vulnerable to the transmission and spread of the virus,” the court wrote in its 34-page order. “Oregon prisons have not been spared from this reality, as COVID-19′s toll continues to mount behind bars.”
There have been more than 368,000 cases among prison inmates, according to the Covid Prison Project, which tracks Covid-19 in US correctional facilities, and more than 2,250 deaths. It said almost 3,400 Oregon inmates have tested positive and more than 40 have died of Covid-19.
The ruling applies to more than 12,000 inmates who live in one of the state’s 14 prisons.
"The court's decision is clear, and the state has decided not to appeal," Gov. Kate Brown's Deputy Communications Director Charles Boyle said.