Excerpt from ‘When will the government apply its vaccine effort to migrants in ICE detention?’

This op-ed was written by our clients Drs. Scott A. Allen and Josiah D. Rich and was originally published here.

‘President Biden is correct to cite the success of vaccines in reducing the impact of COVID-19 on individuals and communities. In a White House speech last month he said, “The truth is that deaths and hospitalizations are drastically down in places where people are getting vaccinated. But unfortunately, cases and hospitalizations are not going down in many places in the lower vaccination rate states.”

One of those places with low vaccination rates is under the executive branch’s complete control: immigration detention. As of Aug. 1, there have been 22,518 cases of COVID-19 in ICE detention, resulting in at least nine deaths, though these numbers likely are severe underestimations. COVID-19 cannot be contained behind the walls: Spread to surrounding communities is an expected consequence of detention outbreaks.’

To read the full article, visit The Hill’s website here.