Prison infections can lead to outbreaks in the community. Yet there has been no comprehensive plan to roll out the vaccine for inmates. Some states have simply decided that when older adults and medically vulnerable residents are vaccinated, inmates in those categories will be included — but not other prisoners. “We used equity as a core principle in our recommendations,” Dr. Wildes said. Allocating scarce medical resources to people in prison can be controversial, and the Massachusetts advisory committee had some “very robust discussions,” Dr. Wildes said.

Source: New York Times December 18, 2020 20:58 UTC