If they receive both doses, watch and read educational materials and submit a form for approval, they can shorten the sentence, the Department of Corrections said in a memo.
The incentive is made possible by a Massachusetts law, which states that prisoners are “eligible to receive deductions from sentences and completion credits, collectively known as deductions for good conduct, for participation and completion of programs and activities” described in the law.
This is what Department of Correction Commissioner Carol A. Mici described as “deserving” (EGT) in a January 28 memo addressed to prisoners / patients.
Inmates who complete the required steps are eligible for a total of seven and a half days of EGT, according to the memo.
“I have determined that receiving the vaccine is significantly valuable for rehabilitation and therefore I will offer Earned Good Time,” wrote Mici.
Prisons remain hot spots for Covid-19
Massachusetts is one of the few states to include prisoners in Phase One of its vaccine distribution launches.
On January 28, when the memo was sent, more than 3,500 DOC inmates had received the vaccine, wrote Mici.
Prisons have been the focus of virus infection since the early days of the pandemic.
According to the Covid Prison Project, which monitors Covid-19 in correctional facilities in the United States, there have been 368,271 cases of Covid-19 and 2,256 related deaths among people incarcerated to date.
“If we just look at the epidemiology of Covid-19 where the outbreaks occurred, it’s really hard to ignore chains and prisons,” Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, assistant professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-founder of the project , he told CNN last month. “They have really been the epicenter in many ways.”
In December, more than 480 health experts signed an open letter urging the CDC advisory group to prioritize populations incarcerated for vaccination.
Virginia also offers incentives for prisoners
Massachusetts is not the only state to offer incentives to prisoners eligible for vaccination.
The Virginia Penitentiary Department announced on January 21 that inmates who receive the vaccine will receive “free e-mail stamps and phone credits” along with packages of commissioner items, such as snacks.
Incentives other than EGT in Massachusetts have not been announced.