Local veterans ask Wisconsin to give COVID vaccine priority to prisoners

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --- Milwaukee Veterans For Peace told a state panel that is making recommendations on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution that prisoners and veterans home should be given high priority.

Veterans For Peace made the announcement Sunday, Dec. 6.

As Wisconsin makes decisions on who should be among the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the veterans group said in a letter to the State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC) that "being incarcerated in Wisconsin is not meant to be a death sentence."

"For many in our Dept. of Corrections, and local prisons or jails, this will be the case unless you act promptly and take effective action," the letter states. "We would request that your committee include in priority No. 1, those who are involuntarily confined, and are packed into small quarters without the possibility of being physically or socially distanced from others."

In the letter, the group also expressed concerned about residents in the three state veterans home. However, they stated they assume they will be included in the first priority along with other nursing home patients.

You can read the full letter below: