Forty percent of inmates in the California state prison system have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, although the state as a whole is distributing vaccines much more slowly to the general population.
According to the most recent statistics, published by the New York Times, 14% of California residents received “at least one injection” of the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine created by Pfizer as part of Operation Warp Speed requires a two-dose regimen to be fully effective.
In contrast, 40% of state prisoners have already been vaccinated, according to the Los Angeles Times:
About 40% of people in custody of the California prison system received the COVID-19 vaccine, a figure praised by prison advocates who say only a fraction of the state’s vaccine is needed to protect a population that is one of the most vulnerable To the virus.
…
Across the state, 211 prisoners and 26 prison staff died of complications related to COVID-19. Social detachment is difficult in overcrowded environments, such as prisons, and the virus has a good chance of entering as employees come and go.
…
As of February 8, 76% of all people incarcerated within the CDCR had received at least one dose of the vaccine or had been infected with the virus, according to a document presented as part of the Plata vs. Execution process. Newsom, the long-standing lawsuit against the state of California over issues of access to medical care in prisons.
THE Los Angeles Times adds that 70% of prisoners who received the vaccine took it.
Last year, the San Quentin State Prison suffered an outbreak of coronavirus, reportedly as a result of a decision to move infected prisoners from one facility to another. Inmates are considered a high priority population for vaccination due to the difficulty of social detachment in prison.
Joel B. Pollak is senior editor-in-chief at Breitbart News and presenter of Breitbart News Sunday at Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday nights, from 7 pm to 10 pm (Eastern Time) (4 pm to 7 pm PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither free nor fair: the U.S. presidential election in 2020. Your recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries from a conservative perspective. He is the winner of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship 2018 award. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.