IDOC DIRECTOR TOUTS AVAILABILITY OF COVID-19 VACCINATION FOR IDAHO INMATES - NOW REFERRED TO AS "RESIDENTS"

In a series of 4 emails sent to all IDOC prisoners on March 26, 2021, Director Josh Tewalt provided a FACT SHEET FOR RECIPIENTS AND CAREGIVERS for 3 of the COVID-19 vaccines which may soon be available for the majority of the inmate population. While the Fact Sheets contained some eyebrow raising facts, such as "there is no U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19", there was another nugget of information contained within the emails that have raised another question.

Rather than referring to prisoners as inmates or offenders, the communications from the Director referred to the inmate population as "Residents". A part of his message has been quoted below:

"Hi All-

I have some great news for you -- this week the Governor expanded the current eligibility for the COVID vaccine to include all of you! We have already vaccinated over 400 residents and are working to obtain additional vaccine so that we can provide the COVID-19 immunization to any resident who wants it. You will soon be receiving three JPay messages with FAQs about the vaccines that are being made available to us (Moderna, Pfizer, and Janssen). Please review all three FAQs we do not have control over which vaccine is sent to us, so you need to be informed on all three.

Within the next week you will be receiving a Selection Form from staff to fill out. The form is your opportunity to let us know if you would like to receive the vaccine. This is the first step to help us ensure that we have the right amount of vaccine on hand."

As predicted by the Director, prisoners at the ISCC did receive a Selection Form - on IDOC letterhead - titled IDOC COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUEST/DECLINE FORM within a few hours of receiving the emails. In keeping with the Director's references, the form requests the "RESIDENT NAME (Printed)" the "Resident's Selection" [choice to receive or decline the vaccine] and the "Resident Signature" at the bottom of the form. (The form also seeks information on the date of birth and gender of the [resident] - though I have no idea why that would matter.) There was no direction to Residents as to what to do with the forms once they have been completed.

Although the answer may lie simply in economy (some might call it laziness) where a form from a nursing home or other residential care facility was copied and pasted on to an IDOC letterhead, there well may be a change afoot.

Years ago, the IDOC went from referring to prisoners as "inmates" and moved to the term "offenders". Has the IDOC Director now signaled a renaming of prisoners as Residents? Might now the IDOC be moving into an era of civility towards prisoners - thinking of them more as people than a commodity? Only time will tell, as a rose is a rose by any other name.

Maybe in a decade or so, we'll be referred to as "the Confined".