US Bureau of Prisons working with Operation Warp Speed to prioritize staff, inmates for vaccine
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is working with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine initiative, Operation Warp Speed, to prioritize prison staff and inmates once a vaccine is approved, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.
The memo said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is determining allocations but the Bureau of Prisons will be included in that initial allotment, which will first be reserved for staff. The memo noted that staff must register on the CDC's website before receiving the vaccine, which will be administered in two doses.
"The BOP Health Services Division is working with the CDC and Operation Warp Speed to ensure the BOP is prepared to receive the COVID-19 once it becomes available," the memo said.
When asked for comment, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told ABC News the agency is working with the CDC and Operation Warp Speed "to ensure the BOP is prepared to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine once it becomes available."
Earlier this month, a report by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General "identified numerous failures" in how staff at a federal prison complex in south Louisiana responded to a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.
The Federal Correctional Complex in Oakdale, Louisiana, suffered the first coronavirus-related death in the federal prison system. As of Nov. 8, the facility had 256 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and at least eight of the prison's approximately 1,800 inmates had died from COVID-19 complications, according to the inspector general's report.
ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.