3 in 4 Bristol County inmates refuse vaccine, mirroring hesitancy among staff
Published Tue Mar 02 2021 11:00:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Last May, a densely populated wing of a jail in Dartmouth, Massachusetts erupted in violence amid growing tensions over coronavirus safety. Why are the jail's inmates now refusing the vaccine?
by Ben Berke
In the past year, Covid has penetrated Bristol County’s jails on several occasions, spreading from staff members free to mingle in the outside world to inmates who sleep in bunk beds spaced only a few feet apart and transmit the disease behind bars.
An initial outbreak in May infected nearly 40 inmates and 30 staff members. Fear and confusion over quarantine protocols led to a violent conflict between the jail’s staff and a group of immigrants awaiting deportation. Infections spiked again during the winter holidays, when more than 100 staff members tested positive.