蜜柚直播

This was a general shift in prison-yard culture that Kahsai and others noticed during the pandemic. Kahsai said the state transferred him to 蜜柚直播 in September. This was right after a major outbreak infected hundreds of inmates in 蜜柚直播. When he got there he noticed the inmates were scared and on edge.

Kahsai said the prison guards would take advantage of this fear when inmates acted out. He said he heard guards threaten to infect inmates by coming to work if the guards themselves happened to get infected. He couldn鈥檛 tell if these guards were being serious or not, but either way it really bothered him.

Kahsai was scared. He didn鈥檛 want to get sick and he didn鈥檛 want to bring the virus home when we would be released towards the end of February after serving his term for armed robbery.

He had been transferred to one of the places in Pima County hardest hit by the pandemic. The state prison鈥檚 census tract in 蜜柚直播 has had the highest rate of COVID-19 and the lowest rate of vaccinations in the county.

The state prison complex in 蜜柚直播 has its own census tract, numbered 41.13. Nothing else but the prison complex is located there.

So far, it has the highest cumulative case rate and lowest vaccination rate per capita in Pima County, whether the rate is calculated using the total population or just the adult population, according to an analysis by the 蜜柚直播. The Star looked at population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, along with COVID-19 case and vaccination data provided by Pima County.

High risk

Knowing which places have high cumulative rates of COVID-19 cases can help health officials decide where vaccinations are needed most, said Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 College of Public Health.

Places that have had the most cases per capita are often at higher risk for more infections. 鈥淚t鈥檚 somewhat of a counterintuitive finding,鈥� Gerald said, because you might think more cases in one place might mean more potential natural immunity there, too.

He said that, for certain people in these hard-hit places who have not been infected, they鈥檝e dodged a bullet, but more will likely come their way. The risk isn鈥檛 over.

鈥淚t鈥檚 (a finding) that we in our group here at the University of 蜜柚直播 are very convinced of, which is, we need to do more to target vaccinations in areas with high past burden of COVID-19 disease because that鈥檚 an indicator of current risk.鈥�

The Star didn鈥檛 include census tracts in the Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation on the 鈥渕ain鈥� reservation in the analysis because the county could not geocode many of the addresses there, which is a process for assigning latitude and longitude coordinates to addresses. A county health official said the level of vaccine distribution seemed better in the Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation than at the state prison.

Vaccination progress unclear

A plan by the 蜜柚直播 Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry aimed to vaccinate 181 vulnerable inmates in 蜜柚直播 from March 1-5. These inmates include those in the infirmary and the Special Needs Unit in 蜜柚直播.

According to the plan, state inmates in 蜜柚直播 who have high-risk medical conditions and those who are at least 65 years old are also scheduled to be vaccinated the week of March 29-April 2. They are scheduled to receive their second dose the week of April 26-30.

Attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union got the vaccination plan from attorneys for the Department of Corrections after asking for it repeatedly, said Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU鈥檚 National Prison Project.

This was possible due to a 2014 settlement reached in a case called Parsons v. Shinn, which dealt with health care. 鈥�(The plan) doesn鈥檛 look very official and it鈥檚 not on the (Department of Corrections鈥�) website, which is a little concerning,鈥� she said.

The department didn鈥檛 respond directly to the Star鈥檚 inquiries about the plan鈥檚 details or the department鈥檚 follow-through.

While county officials gave the Star vaccination data though March 4 and the Department of Corrections planned to vaccinate the most vulnerable inmates by March 5, many vaccinations from that week are likely not included in the Star鈥檚 dataset due to data-reporting lags.

If the department did vaccinate these 181 vulnerable inmates in 蜜柚直播, however, the state prison鈥檚 census tract would still have the lowest vaccination rate per capita in the county.

The county鈥檚 chief medical officer, Dr. Francisco Garcia, said on Friday that he is seeing around 100 vaccinations from the state prison鈥檚 census tract in more recent data that he hasn鈥檛 released yet because the data haven鈥檛 been cleaned or processed.

State health director Dr. Cara Christ said on Friday that she had recently received an update from the Department of Corrections that it has started vaccinating in the infirmaries and 鈥渁nother high-risk unit.鈥�

When asked for the specific number of inmates who have been vaccinated, she referred the question to the Department of Corrections.

In an email on March 8, a spokesman, Bill Lamoreaux, said, the Department of Corrections 鈥渋s currently providing the opportunity to receive a vaccine across the department for Centurion healthcare workers who are part of the 1A frontline healthcare group and correctional officers who are part of the 1B protective services personnel group.鈥� Centurion is the health-care provider for state inmates.

As for vaccinations for the inmates, Lamoreaux wrote that some qualify, but the department 鈥渋s prepared to offer the vaccines to inmates upon distribution,鈥� suggesting that they have not been vaccinated yet.

The department didn鈥檛 directly answer multiple attempts by the Star last week to clarify whether, or how many, inmates have been vaccinated statewide and in 蜜柚直播.

In a subsequent email, Lamoreaux did include a link to a January news release that said 鈥渢he anticipated administering of vaccines to our vulnerable inmate population is dependent on the number of vaccines received, and locations where they are received.鈥�

鈥滲lack hole鈥� of information

Pima County public health officials don鈥檛 know much more than the general public about COVID-19 in the state prison. Garcia called the federal and state prisons a 鈥渂lack hole鈥� of information. Throughout the pandemic, he鈥檇 only learn about COVID-19 outbreaks in these prisons when he鈥檇 see flare-ups in the data.

The amount of information about COVID-19 coming from state prisons is especially frustrating for families and friends of inmates.

For example, Nkenge Simpson鈥檚 son, Marcellus Jackson, is incarcerated at the state prison in 蜜柚直播. She worries every day about him contracting COVID-19.

She said her son is currently in a detention center within the prison. Simpson said it鈥檚 also known as 鈥渢he hole.鈥�

In a letter she read to the Star, Jackson wrote that he鈥檚 the third person in a cell meant for two people, where he鈥檚 sleeping on the floor a few feet from the toilet.

He鈥檚 also depressed due to prison visits not being allowed during the pandemic, Simpson said.

State records show Jackson has been convicted of armed robbery and burglary.

Simpson doesn鈥檛 know when he will be offered a vaccine, but every morning Simpson checks the COVID-19 numbers on the Department of Corrections鈥� online dashboard.

This has been her routine for nearly a year, even though she doesn鈥檛 trust the information on the dashboard. She thinks the numbers are worse than what鈥檚 reported.

She said her son was transferred to 蜜柚直播 around the end of December. This made her nervous because she knew the official case counts there had been high.

鈥淚 was already stressed with him moving to 蜜柚直播 because I鈥檓 one that I get up, unfortunately, and I look at the stats ... even though I know they鈥檙e wrong,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I look at the number of deaths, the number of people sick, the number of staff infected.鈥�

This distrust of the official numbers is common for friends and families of those incarcerated in the state prisons. When the Star pointed this out to the Department of Corrections, Lamoreaux wrote, 鈥渁ll inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiner鈥檚 office. COVID-19 data continues to be updated on ADCRR鈥檚 dashboard.鈥�

Outbreaks can spread beyond prison walls

Gerald said he鈥檚 been worried about prisons in the pandemic for some time.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e definitely a high risk setting given the often crowded conditions and close confines that inmates must share,鈥� he said, adding that this makes it ripe for the transmission of a communicable disease like COVID-19.

Both Gerald and Garcia point out that whatever happens inside prisons may eventually affect the larger community. The virus doesn鈥檛 care who was sentenced to prison and who works there. Eventually COVID-19 outbreaks can spread beyond the prison walls.

Beyond how the prisons can affect the larger community, Gerald said there鈥檚 also a moral responsibility at play since inmates are wards of the state, and of the public by extension.

鈥淲e have an even greater responsibility to ensure that they have access to care and testing and vaccines, things of that nature, because in all other regards, they lack free will and are totally dependent on us for their safety and wellbeing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to think about the prisoners because they鈥檙e human beings. Just because you鈥檝e committed an offense, you don鈥檛 surrender all of your rights as simply being a member of the human species.鈥�