Vaccines will begin arriving in North Carolina’s state prisons this month.
Some staff members are already beginning to receive doses, while incarcerated people in the same age demographic wait.
As the number of new novel coronavirus cases shattered records last week, topping over 10,000 new cases on each of several days, North Carolina is beginning to enter Phase 1b of its vaccination plan.
Frontline health care workers and people who live and work in long-term care settings, such as nursing homes, have been given the opportunity to get vaccinated. This includes health care staff who work in prisons and jails. State prison health care workers began receiving the vaccine on Jan. 4, according to an internal Department of Public Safety document obtained by North Carolina Health News.
Air purifiers are being installed, vaccinations will be offered to improve health and safety in state prisons
New air purifiers installed in prisons for health and safety By WECT Staff | January 7, 2021 at 6:40 PM EST - Updated January 7 at 11:40 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) - Despite recent declines in COVID-19 cases in some state prisons, nearly 4,000 air purifiers are being installed in the ductwork of 53 North Carolina prisons to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Costing a total of $1.8 million, the IWave air purifiers work by making the virus particles heavier and easier to filter.
“The health and safety of the staff and the offenders in our custody is our number one priority,” said Commissioner of Prisons Todd Ishee. “These devices will help to stop the airborne spread of the virus in our facilities and is another tool to use in our ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of this awful virus.”
North Carolina prison officials map out COVID-19 vaccination plan by Nyamekye Daniel, The Center Square | January 08, 2021 11:00 AM Print this article
North Carolina Department of Public Safety officials rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination plan Thursday for the state s prisons.
Prison health care workers will receive the vaccine before it is administered to offenders, starting with those 75 years old or older, officials said. With that age group in line first, other prison employees also can receive the vaccine from local health departments.
Older inmates and those with underlying conditions will be prioritized during the next phase, followed by everyone else, officials said.