Judges and lawyers demand to
be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine
BY JASON COHEN
The Bronx is often the forgotten
step child in the borough.
From the lack of testing
sites, inequity in PPP
loans and the fi res in the 80s,
it seems the Boogie Down always
receives the least attention.
This is quite evident again
as only 17 % of the borough has
been vaccinated, compared to
25 % in Manhattan and 24 %
in Staten Island.
Elected offi cials have been
clamoring for mass vaccination
sites. So far, they have
launched at Bathgate Contract
Postal Station, Yankee Stadium,
Bronx High School of
Science, Morris High School
Campus, South Bronx Educational
Campus and Co-op
With schools and courts
set to reopen later this month,
teachers are eligible for the
vaccine, but lawyers and
judges are not.
District Attorney Darcel
Clark hopes the state reverses
its tune.
“The Bronx has one of the
highest rates of COVID-19 in
New York State,” Clark said.
“My staff, judges and defense
attorneys as well as other
court personnel put their
health at risk when they come
into the courthouse. My assistant
district attorneys and
other professional staff, such
as grand jury stenographers
and interpreters, have been
interfacing in person with
grand jury panels for weeks
now. With jury trials set to resume
in two weeks, they all
deserve protection and need to
be included as eligible for the
vaccine. I call on Gov. Cuomo
to make Bronx criminal justice
stakeholders eligible for
the vaccine now.”
These concerns come at the
same time as the Department
of Corrections for Rikers Island
are being scrutinized for
Judges and lawyers want to be vaccinated Photo via Getty Images
not providing inmates with
adequate face masks or coverings,
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access to COVID-19 testing
or dedicated housing units
for quarantine of those who
are sick.
Justine Olderman, executive
director of The Bronx Defenders,
said that calls for adequate
care and warnings were
met with “indifference” that
led to the deaths of people in
custody.
“COVID is still as dangerous
today as it was a year ago.
Rikers is still overcrowded,
people still can’t socially distance
from one another. They
still can’t get access to basic
hygiene products and the virus
is still raging behind it’s
walls,” said Olderman, who
has also called for a more robust
vaccination effort.