Correctional officers who work in or around health care settings in prisons are required to undergo vaccination against COVID-19 based on a Kern County Superior Court judge’s order.
Judge Bernard Barmann reinstated a state mandate after initially putting the requirement on hold last month, according to media reports.
“If you're a prison guard, you're around people who have no choice but to be around you,” said attorney Rex Parris, a Republican. “Prison isn’t a situation where you can stay home. People in prisons are forced to be exposed to people who, if they're not vaccinated, could kill them. I think prison guards have the least grounds to resist vaccination.”
In addition to being an attorney, Parris is also mayor of Lancaster, which is adjacent to Kern County.
“I had to count the bodies,” Parris told the Southern California Record. “I had to order the refrigerator trucks to store the bodies. I have no sympathy for anti-vaxxers. The Judge should be commended. This virus is killing people.”
The Merced Sun-Star reported that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and Gov. Gavin Newsom argued against the vaccination requirement.
“I'm not surprised because the union is a political issue,” Parris said. “Union leadership wants to be voted back in, and also, correction officers tend to be very conservative. For whatever reason, it resonates with conservatives not to get vaccinated.”
As of Nov. 19, there were 196 active staff cases and 49 employee deaths from COVID-19, according to the department’s case tracker.
"Newsom is like any other politician out there,” Parris said. “He'll support whoever funds him and the unions fund Newsom.”
As previously reported, the correctional officers’ union contributed some $1.75 million to Gov. Newsom’s effort to fight the Sept. 14 recall vote initiated by the organizers of Recall Gavin 2020.
“It’s totally deplorable when you're talking about life and death issues,” Parris added. “Political leaders need to have the courage to make the right decisions. This is not the right decision and Gov. Newsom knows that.”