Advocates with the ACLU of Maine are urging the state to prioritize jails and prisons in its COVID-19 vaccination plan.
The latest draft of the plan puts correctional facilities in the second phase for the vaccine to be administered, along with teachers, school staff and transportation workers.
Health care professionals and first responders are in the first phase of receiving the early doses of the virus this week.
"When we talk about prioritizing people in prisons and jails, that is both to keep them safe because they are medically vulnerable," Meagan Sway, Policy Director for ACLU of Maine, said. "But it's also to keep our communities safe."
Sway penned a letter to the Mills administration, including the Maine Center for Disease Control and Dept. of Health and Human Services, Monday saying prisons and jails should be included in phase one.
She cited concerns about the handling of the virus in state and county facilities, including the outbreak at the York County Jail.
"The state of Maine has a moral and legal obligation," Sway said.
According to the Maine CDC, at least 13,000 doses of the vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have been delivered to the state so far. Half of those are going to long-term care facilities.
More shipments of Moderna's vaccine arrived at hospitals and were in some cases administered Tuesday.
A spokesperson said the current plan is "evolving." in a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine:
Maine is committed to safely and efficiently vaccinating all Maine residents as quickly as possible, guided by a plan for accessible, flexible and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. As noted, Dr. Shah recently spoke to the Permanent Commission about this plan, which recognizes that COVID-19 has not affected all groups in Maine equally. Maine’s vaccination plan continues to evolve, as expected since the draft plan was released in mid-October, in response to new guidance and information from the U.S. CDC and Operation Warp Speed. The health needs of Maine people who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, including individuals in correctional settings, are part of this planning moving forward.
CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah last addressed the issue in a press briefing Friday.
"We are just laser focused on getting vaccine out to hospitals," he said. "That's really where we're spending much our focus right now, but we recognize there are these very good and thoughtful questions out there."
Several other states have placed higher priority on correctional facilities, including Massachusetts.