Bigger share of Iowa prisoners are vaccinated than overall population

A greater share of inmates in Iowa’s prisons have been vaccinated against COVID-19 than the state’s overall eligible population, interviews and public health records show.

Roughly 71 percent of inmates currently incarcerated in the state prison system are vaccinated, according to data provided by the Iowa Department of Corrections. In contrast, the latest data released to the public shows that less than 57 percent of all Iowans age 12 and above are fully vaccinated.

As of last Thursday, nearly 5,000 inmates in the state prison facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Of those, 4,897 are considered to have recovered.

There were at least seven active COVID-19 cases late last week in Iowa prison facilities: one at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center near Coralville; three at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison; and three at the Newton Correctional Facility in Newton.

Additionally, about 730 state prison staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 717 are considered recovered.

There were currently 13 prison staff members with the infection: two at the Anamosa State Penitentiary; three at the Clarinda Correctional Facility; one at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility; one at the Iowa Correctional Institute for Women in Mitchellville; one at the Iowa State Penitentiary; and five at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility.

The numbers provided to The Gazette show state prisons have vaccinated 6,062 incarcerated individuals since the vaccines first became available last December. Of those, 5,520 remain housed in state prison facilities.

Additionally, the Corrections Department said about 61 percent of the state’s prison staff have reported being fully vaccinated — again, higher than the rate for the state’s overall eligible population. Spokeswoman Sarah Fineran said it’s voluntary for staff to report their vaccine status, and that vaccines received off-site may not have been reported.

County jails

Rates at county jails in Iowa are harder to monitor as there is no overall tracking of cases or vaccinations in the facilities, as each county sheriff’s office operates independently.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said roughly 80 inmates at the Linn County Correctional Center have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since the shots were made available to incarcerated individuals. Gardner said vaccines are provided to inmates on a voluntary basis and upon request.

Gardner said the jail is responsible for the individuals it locks up, which includes medical needs. The vaccine, he said, is just another facet of that.

For inmates who want to be vaccinated, Gardner said, they fill out a request slip and their name is added to a list. Once the list has enough names, the jail nurses hold a clinic and administer the vaccines.

As for vaccines on the jail staff, Gardner said his office is not tracking that.

In Johnson County, 14 inmates have received vaccinations while in custody at the Johnson County Correctional Center. Vaccines, according to the sheriff’s office, are provided to inmates upon request and based on Johnson County Public Health’s availability. Additionally, the sheriff’s office said about 80 percent of the sheriff’s staff is fully vaccinated.

Jones County Sheriff Greg Graver said he is aware of only three inmates who have requested and received COVID-19 vaccines, one of whom still is housed in the jail there.

“Most (inmates) decline the vaccination,” he said.

When vaccines were first made available to inmates, Graver said jail staff made sure inmates were aware they could get the shot. Those who opted to get the jab, Graver said, were vaccinated inside the facility. The inmates, he said, received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to avoid the trouble of having to schedule a second shot.

Now, if an inmate there requests a vaccination, Graver said he is transported to the local clinic to get the shot.

As for the Jones County Jail staff, Graver said he has not required his employees to report their vaccination status. But he estimated that about 44 percent of his staff is vaccinated.

“It is my personal belief that I have an obligation to protect not only the employees but the inmates housed here at our facility,” Graver told The Gazette in an email. “We do not mandate employees or inmates to get the vaccine but try to accommodate if they do wish to receive it. I believe having vaccinated employees and inmates protects not only our employees but the inmate population we are responsible for.”

Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera said that up until last week, no inmate there had requested a COVID-19 vaccine. Then one did.

“And he’s been in the jail for more than a year,” the sheriff said. “He’s been here since May of 2020 and hadn’t asked to be vaccinated until now.”

Kucera said the jail has no medical staff on-site that could give the vaccine, which means the inmate would have to be taken out of the jail to be vaccinated.

“I don’t believe that’s in the best interest of the inmates or the jail staff,” he said. “Plus, it’s a security risk.”

Kucera said inmates at the Tama County Jail — there are about 15 — have little risk of exposure because each prisoner is quarantined for 10 to 14 days before being placed into the general population.

No inmate or staff member at the Tama County Jail has tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the sheriff said.

The Johnson County Correctional Center has also gone the entire duration of the pandemic without one positive COVID-19 case among its inmates, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. There have been eight reported cases, however, among staff members

Many state prisons and county jails have seen at least one case, if not multiple outbreaks, of the virus in the past 18 months.

Since the start of the pandemic, Gardner said, a total of 48 inmates in Linn County have tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, he said, 35 staff members have tested positive.

But there have been no deaths among Linn County inmates or staff as the result of COVID-19, he said.

In Jones County, Sheriff Graver said he was aware of one inmate who was symptomatic and had received a positive test before coming in to the jail. “That inmate was isolated within the facility from other inmates until their quarantine period was over,” Graver said.

Additionally, the sheriff said, one staff member has tested positive for the virus. That employee, the sheriff said, was quarantined until symptom free and then cleared to return to work.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com.