Receipt of A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine by prisons and jails - United States, 2009-10 influenza season

Abstract

Approximately 2.3 million inmates were confined to U.S. prisons and jails on any given day in 2009. However, over the course of a year, approximately 10 million persons spend time in a correctional facility. To determine to what extent correctional facility populations were included in the national vaccine response to the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 pandemic, staff members at the Emory University Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center, aided by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC), conducted a survey to document whether jails and prisons received A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine during the 2009-10 pandemic period. This report summarizes the results of that survey, which found that 55% of jails did not receive A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine during the pandemic period, whereas only 14% of federal prisons and 11% of state prisons did not receive the vaccine. Greater inclusion of correctional facilities, especially smaller facilities, in pandemic preparedness planning might better protect correctional facility populations and the community as a whole in the event of future influenza pandemics.