UMATILLA COUNTY — Vaccine efforts at Umatilla County prisons were halted this week as inclement weather forced the state to delay upcoming shipments, according to spokespersons from Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla and Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton. 

The prisons each received around 670 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine last Tuesday, Feb. 9, to immediately begin offering the vaccine to all adults in custody and were expecting to receive more doses this week before the delay. 

The prisons have yet to receive confirmation from the state about when the next shipment of doses might come, the spokespersons said. 

Ron Miles, a supervising executive assistant at EOCI, said the prison is “hopeful (doses) will arrive early next week.” 

Miles said the prison is confident that it should be able to offer all AICs at EOCI a vaccine upon the upcoming shipment. Roughly 72% of all AICs offered one of the 670 doses in the first clinic were vaccinated, Miles said. 

Linda Simon, a public information officer at TRCI, said the prison is expecting 400 doses in the next shipment, but it’s unclear at this time when those doses might come.

Simon added that the prison will have to go through a “couple more rounds” of vaccine shipments before the entire population at the prison is offered their first dose.