Advocates for the incarcerated are applauding the Illinois Department of Corrections for scheduling inmates to be among the earlier members of the public to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
Corrections officers, jail personnel and yes, inmates, will be among those receiving coronavirus vaccines in the so-called 1-B phase of distribution.
That's the phase that includes people 65 and older and essential workers like those in grocery stores and post offices.
Jennifer Vollen-Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association, on Thursday said people behind bars are contracting and dying of COVID-19 at four times the rate of those on the outside.
"There is no place more dangerous to be living during the pandemic than any kind of congregant living situation," she said. "Prisons are arguably the most dangerous place someone can be during COVID-19."
Vollen-Katz says prisoners can social-distance and don't have access to personal protective equipment. It's right that they be vaccinated as soon as possible, she said.
