Prison Health Care Workers Begin COVID Vaccines

The health unit manager at the Kinross Correctional Facility in Sault Ste. Marie became the first Michigan Department of Corrections employee to receive the COVID-19 vaccine yesterday.

Cindi Jenkins received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at War Memorial Hospital.

Kinross was the site of a major COVID-19 outbreak in November. 80 percent of the prisoners tested positive, along with 119 staff members. Two of the employees remain off work. 

Jenkins said she took the vaccine because she believes in science, and believes it will save lives.

Healthcare employees at Chippewa and Carson City Correctional also received the vaccine yesterday. They’re included in the top-priority group of vaccine recipients because they work hands-on with COVID-19 patients.

Non-healthcare workers at Michigan prisons will receive vaccines at a later time.