Vermont’s interim corrections commissioner told lawmakers Wednesday he is “concerned” and “not happy” with the number of prison inmates who have been offered the Covid-19 vaccine but have refused to take it.
James Baker gave an update Wednesday to the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in the corrections department.
He said 585 incarcerated individuals have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 206 have refused to be vaccinated. The total inmate population is 1,234, he said.
“I’m not happy with the number of refusals of the incarcerated population,” Baker told lawmakers Wednesday. “I’m concerned about it. We’re talking with staff now on how we can do an educational piece to try to influence the decision.”
He said initial feedback revealed that some prisoners had trust issues with the corrections department and others were not happy that a two-shot vaccine was being offered, rather than the one-shot Johnson & Johnson.
“We’re going to circle back with an education program and have a plan to go back to the folks that hopefully will change their mind,” the commissioner said, “and we will get that number down.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont and prisoner rights groups have been urging the state to make inmates a priority for vaccination, because tight spaces within prisons make social distancing difficult and outbreaks have occurred at several prisons.
However, the department has been sticking with the Scott administration’s policy to vaccinate people within rolling age bands — currently, people 40 or older are eligible, or people with specific medical conditions. Registration opens April 12 for people 30 or older.
With the age limits dropping, more prisoners have been getting vaccinated, and “we plan on having everyone vaccinated with their first shot by the week of April 19,” Baker said.
Falko Schilling, advocacy director for the ACLU of Vermont, said after the hearing that he encourages anyone who’s offered the vaccine to take it.
“One thing that the commissioner spoke to himself is that there is some mistrust within the system and that might be leading to some of the decisions,” Schilling said. “We do hope that people will take the opportunity to protect themselves.”
“I think people should get vaccinated,” said Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio, who also oversees the state’s Prisoners’ Rights Office. He said Wednesday he had no idea why prisoners would decline the vaccine: “Everybody who has the opportunity should get it as soon as they can, then we can get back to life as normal, I hope.”
A Covid-19 outbreak at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport started in late February, and 179 inmates and 24 staff members came down with the coronavirus. The prison is the largest in Vermont and typically houses about 340 people.
That outbreak is under control now, Baker said, and all the inmates who had previously tested positive are now considered “medically cleared.”
Last summer, another outbreak occurred among Vermont inmates in a Mississippi prison run by CoreCivic, a private prison corporation. In that outbreak, 185 of the 219 Vermont prisoners held at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Among those out-of-state inmates, 91 have been vaccinated, and nine have refused the vaccine, according to Rachel Feldman, a corrections department spokesperson. There are 168 Vermont incarcerated individuals at the Mississippi prison.
Prisoners in Mississippi are being vaccinated according to guidelines set by that state, according to Feldman.
Earlier, the corrections department offered vaccinations to staff members who work in prison facilities. According to Baker, 591 staff members were offered vaccinations, and 467 took the shot.
“The others declined the vaccine,” he told lawmakers Wednesday, but “be cautious about that number.” Staff could have gotten vaccinated at pharmacies, and the department doesn’t track employees’ personal medical information.
“I believe others have been vaccinated,” he said, and he personally is “anxiously awaiting” his second shot next week.
“Would I like 100 percent? Absolutely,” Baker said of staff receiving vaccines. “We’ve encouraged them to do it.”
