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1,000 NY State Inmates To Be Vaccinated, As Cuomo Reverses Course On Ban
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Feb 5, 2021
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JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published Feb 5, 2021
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New York State's Corrections Department said Thursday afternoon that it’s “preparing to vaccinate” the approximately 1,075 people aged 65 and older in its custody. The announcement made by spokesperson Thomas Mailey reversed the state’s stance on prohibiting immunizations for the incarcerated but allowing them for prison staff. Mailey didn’t say when the process would begin.
The change came several hours after the state was sued on behalf of two men at Rikers Island under the age of 65 who have been denied access to the vaccines because of state rules. The lawsuit sought access to COVID-19 vaccines for all incarcerated people in the state in jails and prisons, not just those over 65, because they’re living in congregate settings, as all other residents of congregate settings like nursing homes, shelters, and adult-care facilities are currently eligible for vaccination.
When asked why prisons were not initially considered the same as other congregate settings, and thus eligible for vaccination under the current phase, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his Friday press briefing that he didn’t know.
“I don’t know the specific definition of congregate,” Cuomo said, adding the state had started to apply the same rules to people inside prisons and as outside them. “We are doing 65 plus and medically frail; it’s the same set of rules for both.”
The city’s correctional health services have vaccinated around 300 people over the age of 65 in jails run by the city but said they needed clearance from the state’s health department to expand to younger detainees. The Governor’s Office and the State Health Department didn’t return repeated requests for comment.
Since mid-December, when vaccines became available to the general public, outbreaks inside state prisons have spread “like wildfire,” as one incarcerated man described it in his diary. Since then, these facilities recorded nearly 3,000 infections and 13 deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 5,000 incarcerated men and women caught the virus in prisons and 31 people have died.
Editor's note: This story was updated with comments from the governor.
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Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
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