Despite dangers of COVID-19 in jails and prisons, many Hawaii inmates not getting vaccine - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

May 10, 2021

Last year, as vaccines began to show promise, Hawaii health officials vowed to make vaccinating inmates a top priority, placing them in line among the state’s other most vulnerable groups.

But more than four months into the vaccine rollout, the number of vaccinations being administered within some facilities housing Hawaii inmates remains troublingly low, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Public Safety.

Eric Seitz, a Honolulu attorney who has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Public Safety on behalf of inmates over lax coronavirus protections, said the numbers are consistent with a larger pattern of unsafe conditions.

Both the Department of Public Safety and Department of Health said they don’t track the percentages of inmates or staff vaccinated at each facility.

Department of Public Safety Director Max Otani wasn’t available for an interview, but in response to written questions, he said the department has been working with health officials to ensure all inmates can receive the vaccine but that unfortunately, many inmates were declining to be immunized.

Hawaii Department of Public Safety officials said the vaccine was currently being offered only to inmates 55 and older, and referred additional questions to Pinal County.

Ryan Gustin, a spokesman for CoreCivic, which operates Saguaro, said the prison was working with its “government partners,” including the Hawaii Public Safety Department, to provide the vaccine to inmates as quickly as possible

He said the prison was “following the plan and protocols established by the State of Arizona and the Pinal County Health Department officials, for prioritizing recipients and administering the vaccine, and we encourage you to be in contact with them for any additional questions about those policies.”