Vaccination Efforts Work to Help Reduce the Spread of COVID in Jails and Prisons

Employees at state prisons in Minnesota are required to show proof of vaccination or have weekly COVID-19 testing. However, only two Minnesota counties have this same safety procedure. Unlike Minnesota state prisons, county jails and their regulations are set by the sheriff for that location, resulting in high variability between standard procedures based on location. This means that county jails could quickly become areas that spread the virus into their communities. To help combat this risk Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota is leading a new project initiative aimed at providing vaccine doses to inmates and staff at prisons and jails. To learn more about Dr. Shlafer’s work on this important project to help increase vaccination rates in jails and prisons throughout the state, follow this link.