Inmates apprehensive about vaccine

Billerica » People incarcerated in state prisons or county houses of correction will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, but Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday his administration does not know how many will actually accept it.

Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian had been wondering the same thing as he prepared to implement a vaccination plan, so his office asked the people incarcerated in Billerica whether they would like to get the vaccine and, if not, what their concerns are.

Of the 406 incarcerated people who responded to the sheriff’s survey, 40% said they would take an approved COVID-19 vaccine right now if it were offered to them free of charge and 60% said they would refuse the vaccination, according to survey results that Koutoujian’s office shared with the News Service.

But of those who said they would refuse a COVID-19, about 34% said they were not firmly opposed and would be willing to change their mind about getting vaccinated. In total, 60% of those who said they would decline a vaccine were open to at least learning more about it.

“With these baseline surveys, we can not only understand how many people are initially interested in receiving vaccinations, but how we can encourage more people to receive them through educational and informational efforts,” Koutoujian said.

The survey asked incarcerated people who are hesitant about getting the vaccine what is driving that reluctance. The number one concern was around safety and effectiveness (just more than 30% of those who said they would decline a vaccine), followed closely by a general distrust of vaccines ( just less than 30%). Almost 16% of those who were reluctant to get vaccinated said they needed more informa