A recent outbreak of COVID-19 at the Maine State Prison in Warren has prompted ten lawmakers to call on Gov. Janet Mills to prioritize the vaccination of incarcerated residents.
Independent Rep. Bill Pluecker, whose district includes Warren, Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross, Independent Jeffrey Evangelos and other Democrats, sent a letter to the governor expressing concern about the outbreak that they say started in the Intensive Mental Health Unit and spread to the prison.
Eleven residents have now tested positive, along with one staff member.
There's at least one other current outbreak of COVID-19 tied to a Maine correctional facility. On Thursday, Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said that one worker and three residents of the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton have tested positive for the disease.
In the letter, the lawmakers credit the Department of Corrections with being able to maintain a near zero percent positivity rate during the pandemic. But they say that as representatives of women and men who have been medically disempowered, they carry the moral responsibility to ensure they are cared for.
"We respectfully request that the State vaccinate the incarcerated people of Maine with the same priority and speed as they would citizens living in any other congregate setting," they wrote.
This week vaccinations began for incarcerated individuals who are 60 and older in state correctional facilities. About 100 of the 150 eligible individuals were vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to Shah.
The state is now making plans to expand eligibility to incaracerated individuals who are 50 and older, which would align them with the general population, Shah said.
Correction: State Rep. Bill Pluecker is an independent, not a Democrat.
