SCAO Urges Officials to Prioritize At-Risk Attorneys for Vaccination

SCAO Urges Officials to Prioritize At-Risk Attorneys for Vaccination

January 11, 2021 

State Court Administrator Tom Boyd today issued a memo about vaccinations for at-risk attorneys. The memo was sent to Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy Director for Health for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. It reads:  

As local health departments begin vaccinating members of the public in Phase 1B, we would like to draw your attention to the risks faced by attorneys and court employees whose positions require them to enter juvenile justice facilities, prisons, jails, and police lockups. These individuals are at a higher level of risk for acquiring and transmitting COVID-19 than other essential court personnel and attorneys. They should be prioritized with sheriff’s correction deputies. We urge the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and local health departments to include attorneys and court personnel whose jobs require them to interact with prisoners, inmates, and juvenile respondents incarcerated or held in detention or residential facilities, in Phase 1B (Group B) in the vaccination prioritization schedule.