Staff at New York jails and prisons are taking the COVID-19 vaccines at less than half the rate of other congregate settings and the general population, according to city and state data provided to Gothamist/WNYC. Health experts say the pattern is concerning given how the coronavirus has torn through correctional facilities since the pandemic emerged last year.
Three months after becoming eligible for vaccines, just 19%—around 2,000 out of more than 10,138 the city's Department of Correction staffers—have received at least one vaccine dose. Contrast that against 55% and 64% of staff at the city’s nursing home and adult care facilities, who’ve been eligible for nearly the same amount of time. These congregate settings are known hotbeds for coronavirus infections. Likewise, 7,500 out of 26,600 state prison employees have gotten at least one COVID-19 shot—a rate that is less than half of that recorded among state nursing home staff. Statewide, 46% of New Yorkers older than 16 have taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
“It's very concerning,” said Homer Venters, a clinical associate professor at NYU’s School of Global Public Health and former chief medical officer for the city’s jail system. “It’s clear we have a major problem in how we're promoting and engaging vaccine acceptance among the correctional staff.”
Low vaccination rates among city correctional officers mirror those across the U.S. Venters said he had visited about 40 jails and prisons across the country over the past year, and the reasons correctional staff mention for skipping COVID-19 vaccines are similar to those of the general population. They cite concerns about vaccine safety, even though none of the authorized vaccines in the U.S. have reported serious consequences. Others believe the shot isn’t necessary because they’ve stayed healthy throughout the pandemic so far. And some who’ve already caught the virus believe their immunity is strong enough, despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating the opposite.
While places like hospitals and nursing homes have invested resources into addressing their employees’ fears and hesitation and found credible messengers to promote the vaccine, Venters said he hadn’t seen that kind of effort in correctional facilities. The federal government also prioritized a vaccination program specifically for long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.
“That really represents a mortal threat to our ability to eliminate these outbreaks because the staff have been the primary vector throughout the outbreak,” he said.
Officials made vaccines available to all incarcerated New Yorkers late last month following lawsuits from advocates and inmates. City jails had been inoculating some vulnerable inmates since January 6th, and so far, around 25% have received at least one dose, according to data provided by DOC and Correctional Health Services. More than 600 COVID-19 cases have been recorded among the city’s inmates since the pandemic began.
Jason Kersten, a spokesman for DOC, said vaccines are available to staff on Rikers Island Monday through Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. He added employees are regularly encouraged to inoculate via emails, posters, flyers, roll call announcements and in-person engagements. They’re also offered mugs, notebooks, pens, masks and a DOC-designed “Crush COVID” sticker for participation.
The number of inoculated correction officers and non-uniformed employees might be an undercount because DOC doesn’t track how many people get their shots at sites open to the general public. But experts say they’re worried about the impact this low uptake could have on the general public and the populations the officers serve.
Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, said his union fought hard to have vaccines easily available after around 1,400 members got sick and nine died during the pandemic. But it is up to the officers to decide for themselves whether they want to take it, he added.
“People have a right to choose what they feel in terms of their belief on the vaccine,” Boscio said, adding that he hasn’t been vaccinated and hasn’t “really thought” about whether he will.
Other congregate workplaces are taking a direct approach to tackle hesitancy. City homeless shelters have fully vaccinated 3,550 out of about 10,000 contracted staff, a 35% vaccination rate that's higher than the marks for correctional officers (27% at state prisons and 17% at Rikers) and adult New Yorkers (30%).
Dr. Lipi Roy is the medical director for COVID isolation and quarantine sites at Housing Works, a non-profit focused on homelessness and HIV/AIDS, and former chief of addiction medicine for New York City’s jails. She said she had addressed concerns among her staff by regularly discussing the data and research behind the vaccines.
Roy also tries to be transparent around the side effects, which are mostly non-serious but can lead to a person needing to take a day off. Roy said it’s incumbent upon every institution to implement similar outreach.
“The onus is on leadership and these various organizations to understand the reason [for hesitancy] and to address it one by one,” Roy said.
