A corrections officer escorts an inmate at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center on Smiley Road Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 | 2:48 p.m.
Employees at Nevada prisons will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 1, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced today.
The order comes after the four-member Nevada State Board of Health voted unanimously on Friday to implement the mandate.
Prison officials in July said about 42% of staff had been inoculated. On Friday, corrections officers said the mandate would cause mass resignations, the Associated Press reported.
The 18 state-run prisons have reported 5,654 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the onset of the pandemic, according to Nevada’s COVID dashboard. That includes 1,117 cases among staff. The virus has killed 49 inmates and three staffers.
The mandate also applies to 12 Nevada facilities that house “vulnerable populations,” including psychiatric facilities and juvenile detention centers, according to the order.
Employees looking to obtain a religious or medical exception will be placed on administrative leave or “temporary change of duty location” while the request is reviewed, according to the order.
