U of S researchers to study effects of coronavirus on inmates in Sask. jails

Four studies funded by the federal government will try to determine how many inmates in Canadian correctional institutions have antibodies for COVID-19, including one study in Saskatchewan.

The studies will receive $1.2 million thorough the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Three of them will also gauge the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in correctional staff, but the Saskatchewan-based study will not.

Participation will be voluntary and will include a serology (COVID-19 antibody) test and a questionnaire. Participants will be able to learn the results of their serology tests.

The funding announcement was made on Wednesday.

The study conducted in Saskatchewan, led by physician and University of Saskatchewan researcher Dr. Alexander Wong, will focus on inmates at the Regina men's jail, and potentially the White Birch Remand Centre in Regina.

One-time participation will be open to all inmates there, and researchers will follow up in person with people who are still incarcerated.

For those who are released before researchers can meet them in person, attempts will be made to contact them by phone.

The provincial correctional population has a high proportion of people who are vulnerable, marginalized and at risk of issues with mental health and addictions. They are a more difficult population to engage in research activity, Wong said.

The study is a great opportunity to get an understanding of the prevalence of COVID-19 in marginalized and vulnerable populations, and may provide insight on the community transmission rates in this population, he added.

If researchers find a higher prevalence of antibodies in the marginalized corrections population, that will serve as an important prompt for vaccinating people who are at greater risk, Wong said.

The anonymized questionnaire will include questions about chronic health conditions, addictions issues, the stigma of contracting COVID-19, whether the person has been tested, and their correctional experience.

Wong said the researchers know there have been people in inner city populations who had symptoms of COVID-19 and simply “rode it out” without being tested or treated.

“It's going to give us a lot of insight, I think, regarding what the overall prevalence rate is. We've had well-documented outbreaks in multiple provincial and federal facilities now, correctional facilities in Saskatchewan,” he said.

“There's been a lot of lessons learned in the last few months obviously with these outbreaks, so ... there is going to be some interesting data with the federal corrections setting, where they're going to serially test for antibodies, essentially.”

The federal testing will try to track how antibody levels change over time, which is harder to do in provincial facilities since people are incarcerated there for shorter periods.

In a media release, the assistant deputy minister of custody, supervision and rehabilitation services, Heather Scriver, said the study will provide valuable information about any changes that may assist programming in Saskatchewan.

The Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety declined further comment on the study.

It's going to give us a lot of insight, I think, regarding what the overall prevalence rate is.