Increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccine to older adults under community supervision
International Journal of Prisoner Health
ISSN: 1744-9200
Article publication date: 15 November 2022
Issue publication date: 16 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Vaccinating adults who are involved with the carceral system, particularly those aged 55 or older, is crucial to containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, particularly as variants continue to emerge and spread. In this Viewpoint, the authors discuss the reasons why improving access to COVID-19 vaccine and boosters among community supervised adults, especially the aging population, is critical to mitigating the public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study concludes by providing recommendations to enhance vaccine and booster uptake in this population, as the pandemic continues.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a Viewpoint paper regarding mitigating the spread of COVID-19 by improving access to vaccine and boosters among community supervised adults, especially the aging population.
Findings
A key population that has been overlooked in vaccination efforts are older adults involved in the carceral system who are living in the community (i.e. “community supervised” or people on probation or parole). Older adults on probation and parole are at high risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission and severe disease due to numerous factors at the individual, community, social and structural levels.
Originality/value
Implementation of recommendations presented in this Viewpoint will mitigate COVID-19 risk among a population that has been marginalized and overlooked, yet has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Dr Emily Dauria’s effort on this work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [R34DA050480; PI Dauria].
Citation
Dauria, E., Clemenzi-Allen, A., Nowotny, K., Brinkley-Rubinstein, L., Williams, B. and Wurcel, A. (2023), "Increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccine to older adults under community supervision", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 88-94. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-06-2022-0035
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited