COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence in Minnesota Prisons and Jails

Congregate living in prisons and jails often precludes physical distancing and barriers to personal hygiene, which increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 for incarcerated people and prison/jail staff. Staff also have the potential to carry COVID-19 into facilities from their communities and back out into their communities from facilities, posing a great public health threat to both people who are incarcerated and people in their nearby communities. Since March 2020, about 5,730 incarcerated people in MN have been infected with COVID-19; 13 incarcerated people have died and 1,310 prison/jail staff have been infected. When exposed to the virus, incarcerated people are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease/death, due in part to high rates of chronic conditions and limited staff capacity for corrections healthcare services to meet incarcerated people’s needs.

The University of Minnesota Prevention Research Center (UMN PRC) has been awarded supplemental funding to help implement the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Strategy as a member of the Connecting Behavioral Science to COVID-19 Vaccine Demand (CBS-CVD) Network. Part of this funding will support a community-partnered project focused on people in prisons and jails (including people who are currently incarcerated and those working in these settings). The goal of this project is to understand barriers to COVID-19 vaccination and inform intervention strategies to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among people who are incarcerated and corrections staff in Minnesota’s jails and prisons.

Relevant Documents

Jail Staff Survey Summary.pdf

Project Staff

Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, MPH

Principal Investigator

Ingie Osman, MPH

Project Director

Eric Ryu, J.D. Esq.

Graduate Student Intern

Amna Dogar

Undergraduate Student

Advisory Board Member Spotlight

Jonda Crum

My name is Jonda. I am a woman in long term recovery. I have 4 1/2 years sober from a 20 year Heroine and Methamphetamine addiction. I have turned my life around and now work as a Certified peer recovery specialist. Helping others find recovery and support others who have found recovery already. I also facilitate an All recovery meeting. I'm grateful for the life I have now.

Antonio Williams

My name is Antonio Williams, I am 35 years old and I spent 14 years incarcerated in the MN DOC. Seven years into my sentence I begin advocating for myself and other prisoners through published articles in the local newspaper and teaching policy literacy. 15 months post-incarceration I continue to advocate for the incarcerated population and I started an organization to help connect those released from prison with resources.

Noelle Faye

Noelle Anise Faye is the Legal Fellow at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, where she works in the Re-entry Clinic assisting with providing free legal services for justice impacted individuals. Ms. Faye is also currently a writing fellow for the Brennan Center for Justice, an ambassador for non-profit Until We Are All Free, and a member of Voices for Racial Justice's BRIDGE group for BIPOC women who have also been impacted by the justice system. Ms. Faye uses her personal experience with incarceration as well as other circumstances to support, assist, and advocate on behalf of those whose voices are often muted.

Rea Smith

Rea Smith currently works for the State of MN as the Assistant Ombuds for Corrections. She brings a critical perspective to this job as a formerly incarcerated person and someone who has dedicated herself not only to her own transformation but has committed hundreds of hours of volunteer and professional time at numerous organizations around the twin cities to help transform the lives of others, to build stronger communities, and to assist with re-entry for returning community members. She has also shared her invaluable experiences and wisdom by speaking on various professional panels and at conferences to help educate others.

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