No Booster Shots At The Northwest Detention Center

At the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, those detained received the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Some are now two months or more from their inoculation, meaning that under CDC recommendations, they would be eligible for their booster.

But Maru Mora-Villapando, founder of La Resistencia, an organization working to stop immigrant detention, says detainees have not received booster shot information.

“It is up in the air right now about boosters, I think that we’re going to have to pressure the Department of Health to figure out what’s going on at the detention center, both with the idea that, you know, people are eligible now for boosters, at least some of them,” Mora-Villapando says.

Her understanding was the state Department of Health was working with GEO Group to administer vaccines.

The State Department of Health said in an email they have not been involved with administering booster doses, and that the detention center is not an enrolled vaccine provider with the state, therefore they do not receive vaccine allocations.

As of November 4, there are no current COVID cases being monitored at the detention center, according to ICE’s tracking.

Mora-Villapando says as of November 5 that a unit has been placed in quarantine, and another unit was asked to test for COVID-19.
There have been a total 304 confirmed cases of COVID-19 there according to ICE.

The GEO Group could not be reached on whether they are requiring employees to be vaccinated.