Prison employees in California must be fully immunized by January 12

San Francisco, California – A federal judge in California has ordered that all prison personnel be fully immunized against the coronavirus by Jan. 12, potentially lowering the number of Covid-19 instances among young and adult offenders.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 255 youth and 278 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 within the state’s four youth correctional institutions, despite the fact that the number of arrested youth in the state is decreasing.

In addition, a federal report indicated that workers were responsible for almost half of the outbreaks in California’s state prisons between May and July.

After months of uncertainty, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and Governor Gavin Newsom asked for a delay on the mandatory vaccine for prison employees.

As of Oct. 22, 62% of employees at the state’s youth prison facilities had been fully immunized. The remaining 38% were tested on a weekly basis for COVID-19. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the vaccination rate for all California prison employees is now 66 percent.