Joint letter about prison vaccinations (IAPDC, POA and PGA)

Juliet Lyon, in conjunction with the heads of the Prison Officers’ Association and Prison Governors Association, have written a letter about prison vaccinations, published in The Times on Tuesday 18 May 2021.

‘Sir, The concerted effort to curb the rapid spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus  must surely now include the  vaccination of all prison staff and prisoners. In its  report on prisons and virus transmission, the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) warned in March that the importation of a single case can lead to a large outbreak, with prisons acting as “amplifiers or reservoirs of infection”.

Sage reports evidence of higher levels of infection in prison than in the general population, higher rates of hospitalisation and higher associated mortality in prisoners and prison officers. It cites the latest data on occupational risk showing that prison staff are now at highest risk of contracting the virus. According to prison service records, fewer than a quarter of frontline officers have so far been vaccinated. Of the almost 17,000 people who have contracted Covid-19 in custody since the pandemic began, it is not yet known how many are suffering from long Covid.

Increased early vaccination of all those who live and work in  prisons would,  Sage says, “allow faster lifting of severe restrictions, reduce outbreaks and decrease mortality, and benefit the wider control of Covid-19”. We  urge the government to make this measure part of its overall drive to stop the Indian strain.’

Juliet Lyon CBE, chairwoman, Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths and Custody;
Mark Fairhurst, chairman,  Prison Officers’ Association;
Andrea Albutt, president, Prison Governors Association

The letter can be read in full here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-letters-what-hs2-can-and-should-do-for-the-country-thx58jwl6