Forgotten by their keepers: Ensuring Eighth Amendment protections during COVID-19
For more than a year now, correctional staff in most states have been eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. They are prioritized given the key role they play in potentially introducing the virus into prisons and jails and bringing it out to surrounding communities. Despite recommendations from state and federal medical experts, many states chose to vaccinate correctional staff before inmates, claiming that vaccinated staff would be an effective barrier against the virus entering