Virginia Department of Corrections is encouraging inmates to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Officials say inmates who get their vaccine will receive free email stamps and telephone credits as well as a care package filled with commissary items, including snacks.
Inmates bribed into taking COVID-19 vaccine
“We want all staff and inmates who want the COVID-19 vaccine to get their inoculations as soon as possible,” said Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) Director Harold Clarke. “This effort is important to all in the VADOC community – our staff, inmates, and the community outside the walls, where our staff and inmates’ families live. We hope this campaign leads to better health in VADOC facilities and in the Commonwealth itself.”
The department began Phase 1a vaccinations, covering medical staff, about two weeks ago. Last week, VADOC began Phase 1b vaccinations, which involves a system-wide effort to vaccinate as many staff and inmates as possible. VADOC medical staff are administering the Moderna vaccine received from the Virginia Department of Health.
Officials say, as of Friday, 1,177 staff and 648 inmates had received vaccinations. For those inmates choosing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, which includes two doses approximately 28 days apart, VADOC will begin distributing incentive packs in early March.
GOP Congressman: Give $1,400 stimulus checks to people who get the COVID-19 vaccine https://t.co/OfPjuEFkXX by @JessicaASmith8 pic.twitter.com/NMhXRlIj29
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) January 23, 2021
Congress desperate to pump you full of poison
This vaccine bribery scheme is not just for inmates. A Republican congressman wants to put a stipulation on who receives the next round of stimulus payments: They must receive a coronavirus vaccine first.
Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, told Yahoo Finance Live he thinks President Joe Biden’s $1,400 stimulus checks shouldn’t be distributed without the vaccine stipulation.
“I hope the administration will look at that option because we actually buy something with our $1,400 — and that’s herd immunity,” Mr. Stivers said.
Biden has proposed the $1,400-per-person stimulus that, when coupled with the $600 payments approved in December, would bring the total to $2,000, an amount sought by both Democrats and former President Donald Trump. The first $1,200-per-person stimulus was approved in March during the early days of the pandemic.
Mr. Stivers said the $2 trillion price tag for the entire stimulus package would be worth it if it pays for “the right things.”
“The quickest thing we need to do if we really want to help the American people, is get this economy turned back on — get people back to work, get kids back in school, get ourselves some herd immunity, get the vaccine distributed as quick as we can and get the uptake rate up,” Mr. Stivers said. “That’s why I’d be willing to accept a $1,400 stimulus check if people are willing to take the vaccine.”
Mr. Stivers’ suggestion isn’t the first time pay for vaccine has been proposed.
Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., said late last year that payments — he suggested $1,500 — would be an “incentive” for people to receive the vaccine.
“The faster we get 75% of this country vaccinated, the faster we end COVID and the sooner everything returns to normal,” Mr. Delaney said. “We have to create, in my judgment, an incentive for people to really accelerate their thinking about taking the vaccine.”