Bronx judge orders state to vaccinate inmates, reverse ‘unfair and unjust’ policy
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All Rikers Island detainees are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. AP Photo/Seth Wenig
By David Brand
A Bronx judge on Monday ordered the state to reverse an “unfair and unjust” policy and make all incarcerated New Yorkers eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
Supreme Court Justice Alison Tuitt sided with Rikers Island detainees who had sued Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Health Department to force access to the life-saving shots. Tuitt’s decision came the same day as Cuomo announced that all New Yorkers over age 30 would have access to the vaccine.
But Tuitt noted that many detainees, including one of the plaintiffs in the Article 78 lawsuit, are below age 30 and should be offered the vaccine immediately.
Tuitt said the state’s decision “to exclude these incarcerated persons from eligibility for the vaccine was unquestionably arbitrary and capricious, especially in light of the fact that Respondents approved vaccinations for all other congregate living facilities, including juvenile detention facilities.”
“This was an unfair and unjust decision by Respondents, was not based in law or fact and was an abuse of discretion,” she added.
The coronavirus has surged behind bars, with at least 6,314 New Yorkers locked up in state prisons testing positive, according to state data. Nearly 5,000 prison staffers have also contracted the illness, though they were given access to the vaccine in the first phase of eligibility.
At least 577 people on Rikers Island currently have COVID-19, according to reports issued weekly by the Board of Correction, which oversees city jails.
Advocates, including public defender groups that signed onto the lawsuit, praised the judge’s order to vaccinate people behind bars.
“Governor Cuomo's decision to withhold the vaccine from the people confined to dense, congregate settings of jails and prisons always ignored the unambiguous public health guidance that called for priority vaccinations in this uniquely dangerous setting, and exacerbated the vastly disproportionate toll of this virus on Black and Latinx communities,” said Mary Lynne Werlwas, director of the Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Project. “These New Yorkers should have had priority access to the vaccine, and this never should have required litigation.”
In a statement, a top Cuomo Administration official said the state began vaccinating incarcerated New Yorkers with preexisting health conditions as early as Feb. 5 and had administered roughly 19,500 shots.
“Our goal all along has been to implement a vaccination program that is fair and equitable, and these changes will help ensure that continues to happen,” Garvey said.
Correction: This article incorrectly stated that 10 percent of Rikers Island detainees currently have COVID-19. In fact, 10 percent of Rikers Island detainees have tested positive at some point for COVID-19 but do not necessarily have it now.
