COVID-19 Vaccines On Our Minds

As we start 2021, the topic on everyone's mind in health care, corrections, and beyond is the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines. Our fourth quarter quick quiz received responses from 162 Certified Correctional Health Professionals (CCHPs) in 40 states. This is a convenient sample of responses from a survey sent to all current CCHPs.

Do these CCHPs plan to get the vaccine? The overwhelming majority (86%) said yes, either right away or later after more "wait and see." Only 7% said no and 7% have not decided. The survey did not ask for more details on why people would not get the vaccine. 

Does their facility have plans for the getting and distributing the vaccine? One third of respondents said that they had no information; since this survey was conducted in the last week of December 2020, we hope that plans will be widely shared by mid-January 2021. 6% of respondents said that vaccinations for heatlh care staff had already started. 

Due to the challenges of vaccine storage and dosing, the survey asked respondents which elements their plans included. The top two responses, which were each slightly under 50%, included obtaining the vaccine, and prioritizing health care workers and correctional staff. As of January 5, many details were unknown to survey participants. 

Who gets the vaccine first is a challenging question, with national public health experts, including NCCHC, calling for incarcerated populations to be a priority. While most respondents were not sure how prioritization would be set in their state, health care workers are in the highest/top groups overall, while the incarcerated are not. 

Finally, we asked how many CCHPs had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Our respondents have kept themselves safe, with 88% not having had it and 12% having had moderate, mild or asymptomatic cases. No respondent had a case serious enough to have been hospitalized (or they are no longer working in corrections and did not respond). 

Original Article By: ncchc.org