Starting today, hundreds of federal inmates will begin to receive COVID-19 vaccines as part of a pilot project.
It’s a move that has sparked plenty of debate about who is being prioritized in the early stages of the mass vaccination campaign.
Correctional Service Canada said in a statement that the vaccination project would start with 600 elderly and medically vulnerable inmates.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the government was following the advice of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which said people congregated together in places such as prisons were at higher risk.
However, Premier Doug Ford is among the politicians who have voiced displeasure with the vaccine plan, saying “Let’s not give the most dangerous criminals in our country the vaccine before we give it to our long-term care patients and most vulnerable.”
According to the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, elderly prisoners and those with pre-existing conditions are being given first access to these shots, but prison officers and employees are not a part of the program.
“We don’t have many details on what’s going to come next. Will the Correctional Officers be vaccinated before any of the general population of inmates who are under 70 years of age? Will the vaccination take place in the workplace? Will CSC prioritize vaccinations where there are outbreaks?” asks Jeff Wilkins, National President of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers-CSN.
To date, there have been a total of 1,146 confirmed COVID-19 cases among Canada’s inmate population, along with three deaths related to the virus.
Through the pilot, doses will be sent to five prisons: one federal institution Atlantic Canada, one in Quebec, one in Ontario, one in the Prairies, and one on the West Coast to start.
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https://twitter.com/CSC_SCC_en/status/1346947380114055168
https://twitter.com/UCCOSACCweb/status/1346928573584699392