TOPEKA, Kan. — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration plans to begin giving COVID-19 vaccinations to state prison inmates next week.
The move would ignore a call from the Republican-controlled Legislature to postpone the inoculations so that others can get them first. Spokesperson Carol Pitts said in an email that the state Department of Corrections has not yet vaccinated any inmates but would start giving them throughout its nine facilities. Her email came Thursday as the Kansas Senate was debating a resolution condemning a decision by Kelly to make inmates eligible for shots during the second phase of the state’s vaccine rollout that launched last month.
The resolution passed on a 28-8 vote.
