21 January, 2021
With COVID-19 vaccinations set to soon begin at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction, incarcerated individuals had an opportunity today to ask questions of infectious diseases doctors.
Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and Doctors Alysse Wurcel (Tufts Medical Center) and Kathryn Stephenson (Harvard University) addressed incarcerated individuals and took questions during Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on Tuesday, January 19. The questions asked – combined with feedback from a baseline survey conducted earlier this month – will be used to construct FAQ sheets and an informational video to be available throughout the facility.
Results of the baseline survey released last week showed that approximately 40 percent of incarcerated respondents indicated they would want to receive the vaccine.
“Today’s sessions were an incredible opportunity for some of those in our custody to ask the experts questions about the vaccine,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “It was abundantly clear from listening to the questions posed by the individuals that we met with today, that there is a great amount of interest in the vaccine. And while some have already made the decision to be vaccinated, even more are open to doing so.”
Questions asked today focused on a variety of topics including the development timeline, whether any immunity is garnered from the first shot, as well as whether individuals should continue to wear masks after being vaccinated.
Under the Commonwealth’s vaccination plan, those living and working in congregate settings (including jails) may begin to be vaccinated this week.
To date, the MSO has gone nearly four (4) months without a positive COVID-19 test despite conducting over 160 tests amongst its incarcerated population during that timeframe.
To learn more about the MSO’s COVID-19 response, please visit middlesexsheriff.org/covid19.
Photo Caption: Dr. Alysse Wurcel (from left), Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and Dr. Kathryn Stephenson address incarcerated individuals in the Housing Unit for Military Veterans (HUMV) at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction during a Ask Me Anything session focused on the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.
B-Roll: https://youtu.be/rljiRiwfWC8
