Seven months since the first vaccines were distributed, just 55% of people in prison have been vaccinated.
Prison Policy Initiative updates for May 19, 2021 Showing how mass incarceration harms communities and our national welfare
Just over half of incarcerated people are vaccinated, despite being locked in COVID-19 epicenters [[link removed]] Most states did not prioritize incarcerated people in their vaccination plans. As a result, seven months since the first vaccines were distributed, just 55% of people in prison have been vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to infection. [[link removed]]
By Tiana Herring and Emily Widra
Throughout the pandemic, prisons have been a hotspot for COVID-19, with case rates in prisons between four [[link removed]] to five [[link removed]] times higher than in the general population. Despite being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, however, most states did not prioritize incarcerated people [[link removed]] in their vaccination plans. As a result, seven months since the first vaccines were distributed, just 55% of people in prison have been vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to infection.
Using data from the UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project [[link removed]], The Marshall Project/AP [[link removed]], and other state-specific sources, we calculated the current rate of vaccinations among incarcerated people in 48 state prison systems and the federal Bureau of Prisons. For our measure of vaccination, we counted anyone who had received at least one dose of a vaccine as of May 14, 2021. Our findings are disheartening:
In 17 state prison systems and the Bureau of Prisons, less than half of incarcerated people have received a vaccine. Vaccination rates are the worst in Utah, South Carolina, and Alabama where 20% or less of the prison population has received the first dose of a vaccine. And two states - Florida and Wyoming - have not released any vaccination information at all. Their lack of transparency makes it impossible to hold these Departments of Corrections accountable and ensure they are doing all they can to limit the spread of the virus.
As we recently reported, many states prioritized correctional staff for early vaccine access, under the misguided assumption that a fully-vaccinated staff would act as a preventative "barrier" between incarcerated people and the communities surrounding prisons. With many correctional staff refusing to be vaccinated, the median staff vaccination rate [[link removed]] across the country was still just 48% at last count. To meaningfully protect people in prison, incarcerated people need to be vaccinated at much higher rates than we're seeing thus far.
For sourcing and more details on each state see the appendix [[link removed]] in the online version of this briefing.
Only ten states have vaccinated more than 70% of people incarcerated in their prison systems. Some of these states - Massachusetts, Oregon, and California - included incarcerated people in the early phases of their vaccination schedules [[link removed]]. Had more states prioritized vaccinating people in prisons, vaccination rates would be higher across the board.
Vaccinating incarcerated people may be one of the only fast and effective mitigation strategies available to prevent the spread of the virus and save lives: The inability to socially distance [[link removed]] in prisons combined with the higher rates of chronic health issues [[link removed]] among incarcerated people has led to prison mortality rates two [[link removed]] to three [[link removed]] times higher than that of the general population.
Since vaccinations started in the U.S., there have been too many avoidable deaths. In Nevada, for example, one-third of COVID deaths in prisons occurred this year [[link removed]] (after vaccines became available). Similarly, New Hampshire's first COVID prison death [[link removed]] didn't occur until December 30, 2020, and there have since been two more deaths [[link removed]] in 2021. In Oklahoma, incarcerated people became eligible to receive the vaccine late last year, but vaccinations did not start until March; and since January, at least 11 people may have died [[link removed]] from COVID-19. Although the number of new cases each day [[link removed]] has gone down in the United States since January, incarcerated people are still unprotected and dying, even when we have effective vaccines available.
The dark history of the prison medical system could be a huge barrier to vaccine uptake in prisons. Many incarcerated people are wary of the prison medical system, and for good reason: prison medical systems have long been notorious for unethical experimentation [[link removed]] and inadequate medical care [[link removed]]. According to the results of a survey published by The Marshall Project [[link removed]] in February, more than half of incarcerated respondents did not believe the prison was acting in their best interest by making the vaccine available, and very few respondents believed medical staff would provide accurate information about the vaccine.
To address these concerns, public health experts have been clear [[link removed]]: education is crucial to vaccine acceptance behind bars. There are educational resources [[link removed]] designed specifically for COVID-19 vaccine education for people in prisons that can be used to address common questions and concerns. The reality is that vaccine education needs to be more than just handing out flyers and hanging up posters: to combat distrust in the prison system, prisons should bring in outside experts and trusted community members to discuss the vaccines with incarcerated people. Correctional staff - who have shown widespread reluctance to take the vaccine themselves - should not be relied up on to deliver accurate information about vaccines.
Nearly 397,000 people in prisons have tested positive [[link removed]] for COVID-19 since March 2020, and the virus will only continue to spread without widespread vaccinations behind bars. For more than a year, incarcerated people have dealt with devastating consequences of the virus, ranging from the inability to see their loved ones, to the unnecessary use of solitary confinement [[link removed]], to death. Lack of visitation and the use of solitary confinement, as well as discontinued programming and limited access to health care are all incredibly dangerous, in addition to the dangers of COVID-19. States need to start investing in and accelerating vaccine education and administration for people in prisons.
* * *
For an appendix table, footnotes, and more details about our data sources, see the online version of this briefing [[link removed]].
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Other news: Connecticut legislature passes law ending prison gerrymandering [[link removed]]
Last week, the Connecticut General Assembly passed SB 753 [[link removed]], which, if signed by Governor Ned Lamont, will make the state the eleventh to end the practice of prison gerrymandering
Learn more about this important victory. [[link removed]]
Less than half of corrections officers have received the COVID-19 vaccine [[link removed]]
New data suggests that most prison staff have refused to be vaccinated.
Our briefing [[link removed]] shows how vaccine refusal by corrections officers means incarcerated people are still at serious risk.
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Our other newsletters Ending prison gerrymandering ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives) [[link removed]]
Update which newsletters you get [link removed].
You are receiving this message because you signed up on our website [[link removed]] or you met Peter Wagner or another staff member at an event and asked to be included.
Prison Policy Initiative [[link removed]]
PO Box 127
Northampton, Mass. 01061
Web Version [link removed] Unsubscribe [link removed] Update address / join other newsletters [link removed] Donate [[link removed]] Tweet this newsletter [link removed] Forward this newsletter [link removed]
You are receiving this message because you signed up on our website or you met Peter Wagner or another staff member at an event and asked to be included.
Prison Policy Initiative
PO Box 127 Northampton, Mass. 01061
Did someone forward this to you? If you enjoyed reading, please subscribe! [[link removed]] Web Version [link removed] | Update address [link removed] | Unsubscribe [link removed] | Share via: Twitter [link removed] Facebook [[link removed] Email [link removed]