SALEM — A federal judge late Tuesday, Feb. 2, ordered Oregon officials to offer state prison inmates COVID-19 vaccines, immediately.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman granted a temporary restraining order brought as part of a larger case by a group of prison inmates. They’ve criticized the state’s response to the pandemic inside prisons and argue it’s violated the U.S. Constitution.

Beckerman’s ruling applies to more than 12,000 inmates who live in one of the state’s 14 prisons.

“Defendants shall offer all (adults in custody) housed in (Oregon Department of Corrections) facilities, who have not been offered a COVID-19 vaccine, a COVID-19 vaccine,” she wrote.

A spokeswoman for DOC said the agency was still reviewing the ruling.

Beckerman’s order comes as the Oregon Department of Corrections has struggled to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 3,000 inmates have tested positive for the virus. Of those, 42 people in custody have died, including 20 in January alone.

“From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that our country’s prisons were uniquely vulnerable to the transmission and spread of the virus,” Beckerman wrote in her 34-page order. “Oregon prisons have not been spared from this reality, as COVID-19′s toll continues to mount behind bars.”

Beckerman heard arguments on Tuesday, Feb. 2, from the Oregon Department of Justice, which is representing Gov. Kate Brown and prison officials named in the lawsuit. Beckerman also heard from civil rights attorneys representing the inmates who argued inmates live in congregate living situations where the virus spreads more easily and social distancing is far more difficult.

Currently, the state is offering vaccines to high-risk groups that live in congregate care settings. But until now, it has not included inmates.

Juan Chavez, one of the civil rights attorneys representing the inmates, said he believes this ruling fixes an error that he said should’ve never happened.

“This is a potentially lifesaving decision,” Chavez said. “It put them at the same priority of people who live in congregate care facilities, like the Oregon State Hospital, nursing homes, assisted living facilities.”

The Oregon Justice Resource Center and Oregon Innocence Project said it was grateful to the court for the ruling.

“This decision by the court will serve to protect thousands of Oregonians in prison and will come as a great relief to them and their loved ones. While many groups are rightfully anxious to receive the vaccine as soon as possible, it is undeniable that people in custody are at particular risk, as tragically proven by the thousands of cases and 42 deaths from COVID-19 in our prisons,” the statement said.

“A single day of Oregon’s vaccine supply will be enough to protect everyone in custody. Judge Beckerman describes the state’s response to COVID in ODOC facilities as ‘ineffective’ in reducing the spread among people in custody. We look forward to hearing very shortly from the state about how it plans to roll out vaccination throughout all of ODOC’s facilities.”

Last month, the Oregon Department of Corrections gave the first dose of the vaccine to more than 1,300 inmates, though the agency said it was because of a miscommunication with state health officials over the vaccination priority for some inmates. Officials said it was not an official policy.

Officials with the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Justice didn’t immediately return request for comment.