GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Inmates are set to be one of the groups next up for the COVID-19 vaccine in March, but a proposed amendment to a legislative bill would put the majority at the end of the vaccination line.
The Department of Health Services announced Tuesday Phase 1B of Wisconsin's vaccine plan includes educators, public-facing essential workers, non-frontline essential healthcare personnel and people in congregate living settings, such as incarcerated individuals.
Rep. David Steffen, (R) 4th Assembly District, proposed an amendment toAssembly Bill 5 that would put young to middle-aged inmates near the end of Wisconsin's vaccine rollout. It states that incarcerated persons under the age of 60 should not qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine until 21 days after it's available to the general public.
"In my opinion, a mother of three should not be behind a murderer of three when it comes to getting this vaccine," Steffen said.
The main goal of AB5 is to ensure anyone above age 60 is automatically eligible for the vaccine. This would apply to correctional facilities.
Steffen said he proposed the amendment to make sure "prisoners don't get ahead of the general public in getting the vaccine."
"The bottom line is that a law abiding citizen should not be behind a criminal in terms of getting this vaccine. As long as we have a demand that's exceeding supply, there's going to be some sort of line, some sort of prioritization," Steffen said. "I struggle to understand why inmates - young inmates - should be receiving this vaccine before the rest of us."
Representatives with WISDOM Expo, a group looking to end mass incarceration, said age shouldn't be a factor when looking at vaccination plans. Peggy West-Schroder, statewide campaign coordinator, said living environment is what needs to be considered.
"Our prisons are over populated, therefore there is no chance for social distancing in most prisons," Schroder said. "So again, you are continuously spreading the virus from one person to the next."
According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, more than half of the state's roughly 20,000 prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 10,750. Since the start of the pandemic, 25 of them have died from the virus.
Schroder said people are protecting corrections employees and the community as a whole by vaccinating inmates.
"Those people become sick. They go to the hospital. They continue to spread the virus to other people. It's really to protect not only people that are incarcerated but the small communities that they're located in," Schroder said. "They were not sentenced to death, and they were not sentenced to be exposed to a deadly virus and a virus that can cause prolonged health issues."
Assembly members will officially decide whether to include the amendment in AB5 at a session Thursday. Steffen said if the amendment is turned down, it may be added to a similar senate bill in a few weeks.
