Guantanamo Bay detainees getting H1N1 vaccine

With dwindling supplies of H1N1 flu vaccines for the public, some are now questioning why detainees at Guantanamo Bay are getting the shot.

The vaccine arrived this month at the detainment center in Cuba, with guards getting the first doses. Some in the private sector are asking why prisoners are getting a vaccine that is being limited to the general public in the United States. As HULIQ reports:

Dr. Scott A. Allen, a spokesman for Physicians For Human Rights, an international medical group, said, "The fact that many prisoners within the U.S. don't get timely access to basic health care doesn't change the obligation of the U.S. to prisoners at Guantanamo. We should work towards securing H1N1 vaccine for all at-risk populations, and not towards lowering a public health standard for certain unpopular groups."

There are still 221 detainees at Gitmo, according to the Miami Herald. The vaccine is voluntary for prisoners but guards are forced to have the vaccine. Rep. Bart Stupak from Michigan is one person who believes the vaccine for detainees is not a good idea at a time when the general public is having to wait for the shot. As CNN reports:

"Until this shortage is addressed, I urge Pentagon officials to reconsider this decision to vaccinate terrorist detainees ahead of Americans who are waiting," Stupak said.

The controversy about prisoners jumping the line for H1N1 vaccines is not limited to Gitmo, either. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has been under fire also for giving the vaccine to prisoners. On Friday, the department responded to criticism about the inoculation of their prisoners reports the LaCrosse Tribune:

"The vast majority of the vaccine has been going to our staff," Corrections spokesman John Dipko said. "We're not making the vaccine available to our general inmate population at this time."

In Boston, only those prisoners who are at a high risk from the virus will be getting the vaccine at this time. Public health officials point out that in a closed environment like a prison, the risk of a large outbreak is very real. An outbreak in the prison population can also extend beyond the walls and guards and employees of the prison are at increased risk of becoming ill if an outbreak were to happen. In Ontario, Canada, guards aren't the ones receiving the vaccine. Instead, prisoners will be vaccinated on Monday but clinics for the guards have been canceled, according to Canoe.ca.

"This puts us at risk," says Matthew Duffy, an officer at the Toronto West Detention Centre who's a shop steward for OPSEU Local 517 and a "wellness" representative. "They've told us they are holding a clinic for the inmates Monday, Nov. 1, but not one for us? It's ridiculous," he said yesterday.

The reason being given for the closures is that they are not cost effective, as there has been poor turnout for vaccines in prior years.