2nd Washington corrections officer dies of COVID-19

ABERDEEN, Wash. — The Department of Corrections announced on New Year’s Eve the second COVID-related death of a corrections officer in Washington as vaccinations started in the state’s prisons this week.

Officer David Christensen was one of 63 Stafford Creek Corrections Center staff members who tested positive for the virus. He died Tuesday.

The agency had received limited doses of COVID-19 vaccines by Monday that are being distributed according to the state’s Phase 1a plan.

Elderly prisoners and corrections officers who work with them are some of the first on the priority list for the department.

In April, a 65-year-old corrections officer at the Monroe Correctional Complex died after contracting the virus on the job.

Cox Media Group