The Controversy of Prioritizing Prisoners for COVID-19 Vaccines

Nisa Rahman | February 26th, 2020

When the pandemic first arrived in the world, everybody went under lockdown. The controversy at the time was “mask rage”, where people would refuse to wear masks because they believed that it did not prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Ever since the COVID-19 vaccines were released, another controversy has arisen. This time, it was about which people should be prioritized for receiving the limited vaccines. While the vaccines have been decided to be given to senior citizens, essential workers, and medical staff, the category that was brought into most questioning was the prioritization of inmates. People despise the idea of vaccines being distributed to criminals over the innocent.

The federal Liberals intend on providing “COVID-19 vaccinations to 600 elderly and vulnerable inmates in federal prisons”(1). Conservatives object to the decision of vaccinating prisoners because they believe prisoners are not deserving of their human rights. In fact prisoners are perceived as less than a human being, therefore, their lives are not worth saving. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole expressed his complaint towards this decision and said, “Not one criminal should be vaccinated ahead of any vulnerable Canadian or frontline health worker”(2). This is understandable, but if we take into consideration the living standards and environment of prisoners, we can see why they would be given priority over general citizens. Firstly, the prisons themselves are overcrowded, and the prisoners are all within close proximity because they do not have the space to social distance or be provided immediate attention and care as general citizens would. They are also forced to share their spaces, such as toilets, showers, beds, and that makes it even more difficult to maintain good hygiene. As a result, if there was a virus outbreak in prison, not only would it spread fast, but the prisoners would suffer severely.

Additionally, if we analyze the population of inmates in federal prisons, we discover that 25.5 percent and 8.7 percent account for Indigenous and Black people (3). This indicates that the possibility of racism, bias, history of assimilation and slavery contribute to why there is an overrepresentation of the populations. So the inmates that are serving their sentences may have committed the crimes, but they are serving the consequences of it already. To let them fend off a virus and leave them to die with no hope or chance of recovery is not one of the consequences they deserve to face. We have also seen several examples in our society where individuals have been wrongfully convicted as well. Therefore, degrading their lives because of the crimes they committed and not taking into consideration their history and our imperfect justice system, we choose to neglect their basic right to life.

Guantanamo Bay, a facility that is known to brutally interrogate prisoners, while violating their human rights have many individuals who are being held without charge or trial. Despite this, the facility has been granted authorization to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but the plan to move forward with this decision has been halted (4). The reason is because of the controversy of whether prisons should be considered one of the populations deserving of the vaccine. If we look at essential workers and seniors who have been approved, we can understand that it is because of their environment and health that make them vulnerable in being at risk for major complications and hospitalizations, hence why they’re prioritized in receiving vaccines. Similarly, we look at the situation in prison facilities, where there is a lack of access to healthcare, a lack of hygiene, and a lack of social distancing. Overall, the lack of a safe and clean environment qualifies these facilities to be provided vaccinations because they are especially vulnerable to infection and serious health complications.

The purpose of COVID-19 vaccines is to prevent the spread of the virus in populations that are susceptible to the virus. Inmates and prisons fit this description because they are already housed under inhumane treatment. But their living conditions allow for virus outbreaks to spread quickly because inmates are already in a confined setting. At the end of the day, inmates are still people. Although they’ve committed crimes, they still have their rights and they still deserve to be protected and be provided options to combat their illnesses. To have the mindset that death from COVID-19 is a price these inmates should pay just because of the crimes they committed is unjust and a violation of basic human rights.

Endnotes

1. "Canada Has a ‘responsibility’ to Vaccinate Elderly and Vulnerable Inmates, Blair Says After Conservative Outcry," Thestar.com, last modified January 6, 2021, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/01/06/canadas-oldest-and-most-vulnerable-prison-inmates-will-get-covid-19-vaccine-correctional-service-says.html.

2. "Canada Has a ‘responsibility’ to..” Thestar.com

3. "Bias Behind Bars: A Globe Investigation Finds a Prison System Stacked Against Black and Indigenous Inmates," The Globe and Mail, last modified November 11, 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-investigation-racial-bias-in-canadian-prison-risk-assessments/.

4. "Pentagon Pauses Plan to Offer Guantanamo Bay Detainees Coronavirus Vaccines," Washington Examiner, last modified January 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pentagon-pauses-guantanamo-bay-detainees-coronavirus-vaccines.