- Deaths in state and federal prisons across America rose nearly 50 percent during the first year of the pandemic, and in six states, they more than doubled, according to the first comprehensive data on prison fatalities in the era of COVID-19. The tremendous jump in deaths in 2020 was more than twice the increase in the United States overall and even exceeded estimates of the percentage increase at nursing homes, among the hardest-hit sectors nationwide. In many states, the data showed that high rates continued in 2021. While there was ample evidence that prisons were COVID hot spots, an examination of the data by The New York Times underscored how quickly the virus rampaged through crowded facilities and how an aging inmate population, a correctional staffing shortage, and ill-equipped medical personnel combined to make prisoners especially vulnerable during the worst public health crisis in a century. (Article here)
February 21, 2023
Public Health/Prevention | Tea Leaves