Some court workers, not on priority list, still get vaccine
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A number of state and federal judges and court staffers are getting some of Idaho’s limited doses of coronavirus vaccine even though they are not on the state’s priority list, jumping ahead of older people who are supposed to be at the front of the line.
State officials, health care providers and eager vaccine seekers have interpreted the rules differently in Idaho and nationwide, creating a hodgepodge of rules that leaves some court workers who interact with prisoners and the public protected from the coronavirus while others will have to wait months for a shot.
Workers at a federal court and a county courthouse in Boise, Idaho’s largest city, were offered vaccinations Monday, though state health officials say they aren’t supposed to be eligible until sometime in April.
“Vaccinators sometimes have to make judgment calls about who fits into which priority groups, but we are counting on them to honor the groups as recommended” by Idaho’s vaccine advisory committee and approved by Gov. Brad Little, state Department of Health and Welfare spokeswoman Niki Forbing-Orr said.
Courts nationwide have pushed for earlier access and have been turned down in many states, which decide how the vaccine is distributed. Many follow federal guidelines, which list court personnel as “other essential workers” along with clergy, census workers and election staffers. The guidelines say front-line health care workers, police officers, grocery store workers, teachers and people 75 and older should get access to the vaccine before legal workers.
But some states have handled the courts differently.
In the U.S. District Court in St. Louis, some employees got the option for the shot and received the first dose last month, U.S. attorney spokesman Venton...
