Public Statement re: Vaccines for COVID-vulnerable people in prisons
The Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada commends the federal government’s decision to offer vaccines to 600 elderly prisoners and those with pre-existing conditions. This decision is an affirmation of the dignity of each person, a foundation of morality.
The first wave of the pandemic showed that prisoners are much more likely to get COVID-19. According to Correctional Services Canada, as of January 6th, there have been 1,196 total positive cases with 167 active and 3 deaths. Furthermore, a CBC analysis indicates that infection rates are five times higher in provincial jails and up to nine times higher in federal facilities than in the general population. As this data shows, the prison context itself creates significant vulnerabilities to COVID-19 infection.
The guiding principle for decision-making for vaccine distribution should be the equal human dignity and worth of every person. Human dignity is not something that is earned. It belongs to each person and is not forfeited or forgotten due to specific circumstances or behaviours. It is the task of governments and institutions to protect the human dignity of each person, without exception. With regard to vaccines, respect for human dignity means the same two criteria, risk and vulnerability, should be used for the prison population as for the general population.
By design, prisons marginalize people from full participation in the community for a period of time. But this must never leave people marginalized from what is theirs on the basis of their basic human dignity.
Early access to a COVID-19 vaccine for at-risk persons in prison and other detention facilities is a simple question of human dignity and fairness. We diminish ourselves as a society if we do not honour these values in our collective decision-making.
- Office for Systemic Justice, Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada