Perceptions of vaccine safety and hesitancy among incarcerated adults and correctional staff in the rural midwest

Canada, Kelli E.; Givens, Ashley; Huebner, Beth M.; Garcia-Hallett, Janet; Taylor, Elizabeth; Inzana, Victoria; Edwards, Daniel; Peters, Clark M.; Cafourek, Dana Plunkett

doi:10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100270

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

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“…Several related studies that measure COVID vaccination trends in US carceral settings rely on electronic medical records of incarcerated adults [ 22 ], state and federal prison-hosted COVID-tracking datasets [ 64 , 65 ], as well as semi-structured interviews with Cos [ 50 , 66 ], incarcerated adults [ 67 ], and both stakeholder groups at the same facility [ 68 ]. Due to necessity and buoyed by the strong research partnership we have cultivated with the PADOC and other criminal justice agencies [ 69 , 70 ], the survey administration design and protocol described above are unlike any others to date.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal and Medical Distrust Held by Correctional Officers

Kerrison

2023

Vaccines

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This study explores COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among prison security staff and the extent to which they trust varied sources of information about the vaccines. Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from a state-wide sample of corrections officers (COs, hereafter; n = 1208) in February 2021. Group differences, disaggregated by demographic characteristics, were examined using F-tests and t-tests. Despite the comparatively limited risk of contracting the virus, non-security staff reported they would accept a COVID-19 vaccine at no cost (74%), compared to their more vulnerable CO counterparts (49%). We observed vaccine refusal correlations between COs’ reported gender, age, and length of time working as a CO, but none with their self-reported race. Vaccine refusal was more prevalent among womxn officers, younger officers, and those who had spent less time working as prison security staff. Our findings also suggest that the only trusted source of information about vaccines were family members and only for officers who would refuse the vaccine; the quality of trust placed in those sources, however, was not substantially positive and did not vary greatly across CO racial groups. By highlighting characteristics of the observed gaps in COVID-19 vaccine acceptance between COs and their non-security staff coworkers, as well as between corrections officers of varied demographic backgrounds, these findings can inform the development of responsive and accepted occupational health policies for communities both inside and intrinsically linked to prisons.

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