Bowie County inmates receive vaccines
TEXARKANA, Texas — Inmates at the Bi-State jail have received the COVID vaccine with help from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The department recently visited the Bowie County jail to administer COVID vaccinations to inmates and staff who wanted them, said Bowie County Sheriff Jeff Neal.
About 64 inmates and five jail staff members received the COVID-19 vaccination, Neal said.
“I am extremely grateful to David Wood and the others for providing these vaccinations and coming to the Bowie County jail to deliver them,” Neal said.
Wood is the Department of Health county coordinator.
Bowie County has had several inmates test positive recently, Neal said.
Inmates who tested positive were removed from the pods they were in and isolated.
New inmates that are booked into jail are also having their temperatures taken and are asked questions from a virus screening form that also covers flu symptoms.
The Miller County Sheriff’s Office vaccinated inmates a couple of weeks ago.
Capt. Mark Lewis said there were several days of vaccinations for inmates who choose to participate.
Lewis said despite the majority of inmates being vaccinated, jails are “never completely free of COVID.”
“Someone is exposed, then they come into jail, which is a controlled environment. We deal with it on a daily basis,” he said.
Jail administrators and staff have been taking precautions against the coronavirus.
Some of the practices used in the jails come from Texas Department of Corrections and Arkansas Department of Corrections.