Published June 04. 2021 11:47PM
By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press
A lawsuit on behalf of patients was filed Thursday seeking to prevent the closure of a high-security unit at the Connecticut mental hospital that treats those acquitted of crimes by reason of insanity.
Lawyers with the advocacy groups Disability Rights Connecticut and the Connecticut Legal Rights Project allege that closing the unit at Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown would create “likely and imminent irreparable harm” to patients, who they say will be transferred to units that cannot provide the care they need.
The state recently decided to close the unit, one of six high-security units in the hospital, and consolidate other services amid staff shortages, according to the lawsuit.
A lawsuit on behalf of patients was filed Thursday seeking to prevent the closure of a high-security unit at the Connecticut mental hospital that treats those.
SCOTT HEINS/OFFICE OF GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO
Advocacy group Disability Rights Connecticut says Governor Lamont’s new COVID vaccine policy that took effect on April 1 is unlawful and discriminatory and places people at increased risk.
Those 16 and older are now eligible to get vaccinated.
Deborah Dorfman is the executive director of Disability Rights Connecticut and said the Governor’s new policy seems image driven.
“It’s hard to believe it s not for a political purpose as well, which is to say oh look how fast we got a certain number of people vaccinated. The problem is that it hasn’t been and continues to be inequitable. It continues to put people who are at the highest risk at risk,” Dorfman said.
Nearly three quarters of eligible CT residents expected to be vaccinated by end of April
Officials are not tracking how many people receive accelerated access to vaccine
Beth Wright, kindergarten teacher in New Haven, gets vaccinated at Wilbur Cross High School.
State officials expect nearly three quarters of Connecticut residents 16 and older to have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this month.
Eligibility opened Thursday to all people regardless of age. Since Thursday, 50,000 residents ages 16 to 44 – the newest group granted access – received a first dose of the vaccine.
“We’re going to be getting some very high numbers of the percentage of the total Connecticut population vaccinated by the end of the month,” said Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer. “We should be at about 60% of people having received their first dose. Keep in mind, that still includes a significant portion of the population younger than 16, who are
Yehyun Kim / CTMirror.org
Attorneys from three legal aid programs from across the state filed a federal complaint Monday against Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut, alleging that its vaccine rollout plan discriminates against residents of color.
The complaint asks the Office for Civil Rights to “immediately investigate and issue findings on an expedited basis” on whether the vaccine rollout discriminates on the basis of race and disability. Attorneys from Connecticut Legal Services, Inc., the New Haven Legal Assistance Association and Greater Hartford Legal Aid asked the OCR to tell Connecticut to revise its vaccine rollout to include people with underlying health conditions that put them at risk of contracting COVID-19, regardless of their age, and individuals who hold jobs that put them at heightened risk of contracting the virus, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control.