According to Mass.gov and their COVID distribution timeline that can be found HERE, prisoners or individuals in "concrete care settings" will be some of the first in line in Phase 1 to receive a COVID vaccine. They come before adults 65+ as well as individuals with at least 2 comorbidities or high risk pre-existing conditions. Prisoners also come before grocery store workers, K-12 students, transit workers, early education workers, utility workers, as well as the general public. Who came up with distribution plan? The Baker-Polito Administration, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Massachusetts Vaccine Advisory Group all coordinated to come up with what they believe is a solid distribution plan. This is their phased plan for distribution here in Massachusetts...where do you fall?
Many people in the general population as well as individuals 65+ and MA residents with pre-existing conditions are upset about what appears to be one miscalculation in the distribution plan, and that is that prisoners or individuals in "concrete care settings" have a higher priority for getting the vaccine than some of our lawful older citizens and even citizens with pre-existing conditions. As the data has shown, the Coronavirus is more likely to reek havoc on individuals who are...? You guessed it, 65 and older or who have pre-existing conditions, thus why there is outrage going on right now about this distribution plan. Now why are individuals in "concrete care settings" in Phase 1? One theory I have and I'm sure this is why the governor advocated for this (and I'm not endorsing his decision, just trying to put myself in his shoes), is that those in these "concrete care settings" are trapped there, they have no place to go. They cannot "quarantine" or isolate themselves from others the way the average resident can, like individuals 65+ can or even individuals with pre-existing conditions can so I'm assuming that is why the governor made that decision. Once one prisoner or guard gets it, they can all get it. They really don't have much choice in the matter and appear to have a higher likelihood of getting COVID than those residents who are supposed to be following the state's guidelines and staying home away from potential exposure...that is my guess as to why they are in Phase 1. Look at that, I think I just explored Gov. Baker's mindset and I know, that can be scary to many of you...but it's also helpful.
We're left with evaluating two sides of the coin here and we have to decide which side takes precedent. On one side, you have law abiding citizens who are able to stay at home and isolate but who are older and at a higher risk. On the surface it sounds preposterous that unlawful citizens would take a front seat to this distribution over other lawful, law abiding citizens that in theory do or should have more rights than those who broke the law. I get that and on the surface upon reading it, it does sound bad, like what? Is this a misprint? Then, as I mentioned, on the other side you have prisoners who are "trapped" in a concrete care settings" who are living in a potentially vulnerable environment. What do you do when you have these prisoners, who are people too, sitting there like sitting ducks as a virus reeks havoc through our society? Should we say screw you, you broke the law, and you'll get it after everyone else gets it? Some people might think that but clearly the governor and the state doesn't and they think prisoners are more at risk of actually catching it than you or I thus why they are in Phase 1 and the governor thought that side of the coin takes precedent.
This is the breakdown of distribution if you want to see it typed out more clearly:
Phase 1: Distribution Between December 2020 - February 2021
*This is listed in order of priority*
- Clinical and non-clinical health care workers doing direct and COVID-facing care
- Long term care facilities, rest homes and assisted living facilities
- Police, fire and emergency medical services
- Congregate care settings (including corrections and shelters)
- Home-based health care workers
- Health care workers doing non-COVID-facing care
Phase 2: Distribution Between February 2021-March 2021
*This is listed in order of priority*
- Individuals with 2+ comorbidities (high risk for COVID-19 complications)
- Early education, K-12, transit, grocery, utility, food and agriculture, sanitation, public works and public health workers
- Adults 65+
- Individuals with one comorbidity
Phase 3: Distribution Between April 2021-
- Available to the general public
My take on this? Do I think adults over 65+ (such as my parents) and individuals with pre-existing conditions (who upon getting this virus could very well die) should get the vaccine after prisoners? No, no I do not. I explained where the governor is coming from above and while I get the concern, I am more concerned about the individuals like my parents who are in a higher risk category. That may sound harsh but that's the reality and truth of it. I see people like my parents who are law abiding citizens, who pay their taxes, give back to society and the economy here in Massachusetts, who have been following these guidelines put in place all year by the governor and made sacrifices like the rest of us, who deserve, I think, a vaccine before citizens who broke the law, who are not giving back to society right now, and some of whom have reeked havoc on society and made it a more dangerous place for others. Again, while I see where he might be coming from, I think it's a smack in the face to these other citizens who honestly need the vaccine, who I think are a higher priority than the prisoners. Now, let me say I do think prisoners deserve a vaccine and deserve to be helped. I do not want to see anyone die or struggle and I think they are of course humans too and we need to treat them humanely but I don't think they should be getting a vaccine first over others in our population who have been following the law and who have been contributing to society. When you broke the law and went against our law and order (which by the way, Massachusetts is fairly liberal when it comes to locking people up so lets not act like the individuals in the prison system are those one time offenders who just made one mistake, most of them are repeat offenders), you lost some of your rights and with that your social status and thus you should not be at the top of the list for something of this value. That may sound harsh and that may sound nasty but that's my opinion. Now maybe there are some prisoners who are very high risk, I think that's an exception and they should be given the opportunity for a vaccine sooner than others, I think there can be exceptions made. However when you're talking about that 29 year old repeat drug offender who also has a wrap sheet of breaking and entering, robbery, as well as a couple domestics, do you think that individual deserves a COVID vaccine before your 68 year old mother with a couple pre-existing medical conditions? Does THAT sound fair to you? Come on, smarten up here Massachusetts.
-Producer Lightning