Coronavirus: 4 Kingston prisons among first to receive COVID-19 vaccines

Four Kingston-area prisons were among the first in Canada to administer COVID-19 vaccines to their inmate populations.

According to the Correctional Service Canada (CSC), inmates at Bath Institution, Collins Bay Institution, Joycveille Institution and Millhaven Institution all had inmates receive vaccinations over the last two weeks.

CSC’s first phase of vaccinations began Jan. 8, and focused on immunizing 600 of its most elderly and at-risk inmates across the country. It’s unclear how many vaccines were distributed to Kingston-area prisons.

Corrections also said that in some cases, inmates from nearby institutions were transported to eligible penitentiaries to receive vaccinations.

“If an institution has one or a small number of older inmates who are considered a priority, these individuals will be vaccinated at a nearby institution,” CSC said.

2:32 Inoculations begin for 600 elderly and vulnerable inmates

CSC says it expects to finish the first phase of its vaccine rollout within the next couple of days.

It’s still unclear if these same prisons will receive vaccines in phase two of CSC’s vaccinations, or when phase two will begin.