California prison officials have begun vaccinating both staff and incarcerated people at a state prison facility for those with special medical needs.
The Los Angeles Times reported that 65 inmates and staff at the California Health Care Facility, Stockton, volunteered to receive the vaccine Tuesday. At least 150 of the facility’s 2,400 residents are positive for COVID-19, and a union official Steve Crouch told the paper that the employees who received vaccinations are in high-risk positions.
Eight state corrections workers have died of COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Prisons have proven to be at high risk of outbreaks after the virus spread quickly through several facilities this summer. A major outbreak at San Quentin State Prison over the summer saw more than 2,200 positives cases and 28 deaths.
Employees and high-risk inmates are also expected to be vaccinated at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla and the California Medical Facility, Vacaville.
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