ONCE WE INCARCERATE THEM, THEY'RE OUR RESPONSIBILITY:

[T]here is one high-risk group of New Yorkers who have not yet been prioritized for vaccination: people incarcerated in the state's prisons and jails.

The current vaccine distribution plan allows shots for residents of all adult congregate facilities as defined by the state (among them, nursing homes, homeless shelters and treatment centers for drug addiction) ― except correctional facilities. 

As a result, only a tiny fraction of the more than 45,000 people currently incarcerated in New York's jails and prisons have been offered the vaccine.

Fresh on the heels of a scandal over his handling of nursing home deaths, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now under mounting public pressure to protect incarcerated people. Public health experts and criminal justice advocates say the governor's vaccine rollout has put inmates and staff in danger, violates his pledge to ensure fairness in the distribution of the doses, and exacerbates racial disparities. Critics worry that the state still does not have a concrete plan for the vaccination of everyone behind bars.

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