From USA TODAY Network and wire reports Alabama Montgomery: The state said it was distributing its first COVID-19 vaccine doses to prisoners Wednesday, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced. The Alabama National Guard was expected to deliver about 1,400 doses to the Bullock Correctional Facility. Prisoners are not required to get the shots. The doses were first allotted to a National Guard-run clinic aimed at vaccinating rural communities. In a statement, ADOC said attendance at those clinics last week was limited by severe weather. The state Department of Public Health notified ADOC that a surplus of defrosted Pfizer vaccines needed to be used. Prisoners and other populations in group settings are prioritized under federal vaccine guidelines because of the risk congregant settings pose for the highly infectious coronavirus. Families of prisoners last year said it was nearly impossible to take proper precautions against COVID-19 in state prisons, with bunks crowded together and regular issues plaguing plumbing and hygiene materials. The prison system on March 17 announced it received 4,000 of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine, which it reserved for staff only. But as of March 31, only 487 staff members had opted to take it through the department. At least 63 Alabama prisoners have died from COVID-19 and three staff members.