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95 S. Cal. L. Rev. Postscript 1 (2021-2022)

handle is hein.journals/pstscrpt95 and id is 1 raw text is: A DOSE OF DIGNITY: EQUITABLE VACCINATION POLICIES FOR INCARCERATED PEOPLE AND CORRECTIONAL STAFF DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ITAY RAVID*, JORDAN M. HYATTT, STEVEN L. CHANENSONT ABSTRACT Since its emergence in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the lives of millions ofAmericans. As it so often is during times of crisis, our most vulnerable communities have disproportionately suffered and were overlooked. Among these myriad communities, incarcerated people became a particularly potent symbol of our failure to handle the spread of the virus. In December 2020, a beacon of hope emerged with the introduction of new cutting-edge vaccines which promised to bring the world back to where it was just a year-and-a-half ago. Here again, however, policy and politics have led states to adopt different distribution plans that, broadly speaking, deprioritized incarcerated populations and in some cases correctional staff as well. While vaccinations are now much more widespread, things were dramatically different not too long ago. The first goal of this Essay is to ensure we memorialize how society, once again, failed to protect our incarcerated communities when they needed it the most. To illustrate this, we offer a data-driven analysis of the early state-level policies regarding vaccinations of people who live and work in prisons. Our fndings show that *. Assistant Professor of Law, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. t. Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, Director, Center for Public Policy, Drexel University. $. Professor of Law, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. The authors would like to thank Kristi Arty and Michael Slights for their terrific research assistance, and the SCLR editorial team for their careful and diligent work. Research for this Article was conducted with support provided to Dr. Hyatt (Drexel University) by Arnold Ventures. The views expressed in this Article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the funder or any of the authors' respective academic institutions. 1