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About 40% of people in the custody of California’s corrections system have received the COVID-19 vaccine, a figure praised by prison advocates who say that only a fraction of the state’s vaccine supply is needed to protect a population that’s among the most vulnerable to the virus.
The vaccinations began Dec. 22 at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, according to California Correctional Health Care Services. As of Monday, 37,588 incarcerated individuals and 24,959 staff members had received the vaccine. More than 94,000 people are in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“We’re pleased at the pace that they have been going at and have constantly been urging the governor to continue that pace,” said Sara Norman, managing attorney for the Berkeley-based Prison Law Office. “Correction facilities have proven to be deadly. Like nursing homes, they are on top of the list of the deadliest places to be in this country
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
When news of the pandemic first reached the men incarcerated at Avenal State Prison in central California, inmate Ed Welker said the prevailing mood was panic. “We were like, ‘Yeah, it’s going to come in here and it’s going to spread like wildfire and we’re all going to get it,’” he said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”
Calling the prison system’s response to the pandemic “nonchalant,” “incompetent” and at times “negligent,” Welker and his fellow inmates described a crowded and dangerous living situation. Inmates interviewed by Valley Public Radio said physical distancing was nearly impossible, and constant moves in and out of quarantine were confusing and disruptive. The postponement of visits and rehabilitative programs left the men with little opportunity to vent their frustrations.
San Quentin prison staff forcing prisoners to accept liability for their own deaths from COVID-19
December 10, 2020
This tranquil scene of San Quentin State Prison, the oldest prison in California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, was taken on June 25, 2020, as COVID-19 exploded inside, turning the entire prison into death row. – Photo: Paul Chinn, SF Chron
by Courtney Morris and Richard Tan, No Justice Under Capitalism
San Quentin, Calif. – Prisoners at San Quentin State Prison are reporting that, over the past week, San Quentin medical staff have been pressuring prisoners to sign waiver forms accepting legal responsibility for their own deaths from COVID-19.