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Table 2. Participant Demographics and COVID-19
Vaccine Availability
Profession
Sheriff
Correctional officer
Place of work
County jail/house of corrections
State prison
Other
Region
Northeast
Midwest
South
West
Does your facility provide COVID-19 vaccine?
Yes
No
Unsure
Does your facility provide COVID-19 vaccine to
incarcerated individuals?
Yes
No
Unsure
Does your facility provide vaccines to staff?
Yes
No
Unsure
Does your facility provide vaccines to HCWs?
Yes
No
Unsure
Vaccination rollout month
December 2020
January 2021
February 2021
March 2021
April 2021
May 2021
N= 89
(%)
48 (54)
41 (46)
N= 88
(%)
46 (52)
40 (46)
2 (2)
N= 80
(%)
44 (55)
3 (4)
18 (23)
15 (19)
N= 86
(%)
81 (94)
3 (4)
2 (2)
N= 85
(%)
82
1
2
N= 84
(%)
77 (92)
4 (5)
3 (3)
N= 84
(%)
62 (74)
6 (7)
16 (19)
N= 81
(%)
4 (5)
33 (41)
17 (21)
12 (15)
13 (16)
2 (2)
Biden's federal vaccine mandate, as well as mandates in
states like Massachusetts, have incited court battles for
many unions representing prison corrections officers
(Stoico, 2021).
The majority of our respondents disfavored COVID19
vaccine mandates. The COVID-19 vaccine is politicized,
with Republicans less likely to report willingness
for COVID-19 vaccination than Democrats (Khubchandani
et al., 2021). People who work in law enforcement
and corrections are more likely to be White, male, and
Republican (Sundt, 2009). In communities with higher
levels of vaccine hesitancy, there may be increased reactant
behavior, which can manifest as taking action to
avoid COVID-19 vaccination or an increased effort to
preserve other freedoms such as avoiding other, unrelated
vaccines (Sprengholz et al., 2021).
As lawsuits aiming to push back the vaccine mandate
deadline have been unsuccessful, reports show that many
corrections officers are not in compliance, have elected to
leave corrections, or have been fired. In Washington,
4.5% of the prison workforce quit because of the mandate;
many states are feeling pressured to alter course
on mandate policies while a looming workforce shortage
threatens to send justice systems into crisis (Winton,
2021). Workplace shortages stand to harm the health of
staff and incarcerated individuals alike (Winton, 2021).
Policy makers and researchers have argued that these
mandates will have the detrimental effect of decreasing
COVID-19 vaccine uptake across populations due to an
undermining of trust (Eden & Coutinho, 2021).
However, other vaccines, such as hepatitis B, are mandated
for several types ofjail staff, so it could be that with
more time and data, the ''exceptionalism'' of the
COVID-19 vaccine will diminish.
Our findings have limitations. Since incarcerated individuals
were not surveyed about their experience with the
rollout, the survey responses reflect only the perceptions
of those working in correctional settings. Our questions
were emailed as a poll, so it is difficult to determine the
exact number of individuals who received the opportunity
to complete them. The correctional staff members
who were able to view and chose to respond may differ
from those who chose not to answer, and likely reflect individuals
who are interested in this topic.
We also collected very limited demographic data,
leaving us unable to analyze the relationship between
such factors and the responses to questions such as
COVID-19 vaccine incentivization and mandates. A majority
of respondents (55%) are from the Northeast; their
overrepresentation in this analysis may bias our results.
Our assessment of barriers and facilitators is not comprehensive;
some respondents selected ''other'' and specified
facilitators such as surveying incarcerated individuals
and staff as part of planning for distribution, and barriers
such as full FDA approval. Public understanding of FDA
approval and its relationship with vaccine uptake should
be further explored (Guidry et al., 2021).
Despite these limitations, our research is the only available
data on perspectives of vaccine rollout from people
who work in jails and prisons-a population underrepresented
in the health care literature. Distribution of future
COVID-19 vaccines will certainly be improved by the
practices of (a) incorporating community communication
models in prisons/jails for the discussion of vaccines, (b)
using carceral unions and social networks of corrections
as partners in investigating reasons for vaccine hesitancy
Journal of Correctional Health Care - April 2023

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