As states expand vaccines, prisoners still lack access

Carrie Shipp shows a tattoo on her arm for her children, April 2, 2021, in Irving, Texas. Shipp, whose 21-year-old son Matthew is incarcerated at Ruben M. Torres Unit in Texas, said her son decided not to get vaccinated out of fear and distrust of prison medical staff. Fewer than 20 percent of state and federal prisoners have received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data collected by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press. “To have your child, someone you took care of be afraid of something that would protect them… I will lose sleep over it,” Shipp said. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - In this March 31, 2021, file photo, a nurse fills a syringe with a dose of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Uniondale, N.Y. Roughly half the country has opened up vaccine eligibility beyond initial restrictions, vastly expanding the ability for most Americans to get a shot in the arm despite their age or any pre-existing medical conditions. But inside prisons, it’s a different story — prisoners, not free to seek out vaccines, still on the whole lack access. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Carrie Shipp poses for a photo, April 2, 2021, in Irving, Texas. Fewer than 20 percent of state and federal prisoners have received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data collected by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press. Shipp, whose 21-year-old son Matthew is incarcerated at Ruben M. Torres Unit in Texas, said her son decided not to get vaccinated out of fear and distrust of prison medical staff. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2021, file photo, a red tag hangs on a cell door, signifying an active COVID-19 case for its inhabitants at Faribault Prison, in Faribault, Minn. Fewer than 20 percent of state and federal prisoners have received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data collected by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press. In some states, prisoners and advocates have resorted to lawsuits to get access. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, File)

Carrie Shipp shows a photo of her incarcerated 21-year-old son Matthew Shipp that she keep on her cell phone Friday, April 2, 2021, in Irving, Texas. Fewer than 20 percent of state and federal prisoners have received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data collected by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press. Carrie Shipp said her son decided not to get vaccinated out of fear and distrust of prison medical staff. (AP Photo/LM Otero)