Some of the very first people in line to get the new COVID-19 vaccine this week in California were prison inmates with special needs.
There were sixty-five inmates and employees from the California Health Care Facility in Stockton who volunteered to receive the shot. The employees who received the vaccinations work in high-risk positions dealing with potentially infected inmates.
Of the facility’s 2,400 inmates, over 150 tested positive for COVID-19.
The Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Medical Facility in Vacaville is also expected to receive a round of vaccinations for employees and high-risk inmates.
The California Correctional Health Care Services said in a statement, “Supply of the vaccine is limited and will be distributed according to state and federal guidelines. Our first focus will be people at high risk of becoming infected or severely ill from COVID-19.”
According to the California Department of corrections and Rehabilitations website, the Golden State prison system houses more than 90,000 inmates and has had over 10,000 active cases of COVID-19 among the population as well as 3,400 cases among the staff.
Complications from the virus have caused the deaths of 113 inmates and 11 staff members.
Outside of prisons, front-line medical workers are receiving vaccinations as California has had a major surge of coronavirus cases that officials believe stem from Thanksgiving gatherings.
California became the first state in the country to surpass 2 million cases this week leaving many hospitals at capacity. Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his fear that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state could reach 100,000 by the end of the year.
