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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: In Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), staff and prisoners continue to be vaccinated in line with the priorities set in the community. The vaccination strategy can be found on the GOV.UK website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-covid-19-vaccines-delivery-plan/uk-covid-19-vaccines-delivery-plan Vaccines offer the best hope for controlling the virus, but not everybody is willing to be vaccinated. It is important to explore what might increase vaccination willingness.
Since the start of the vaccination campaign in prisons under the responsibility of the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions, health education campaigns have been launched for the entire prison population, with special emphasis on the individual and collective benefits of vaccination, both for the inmates themselves and for their companions/colleagues and families. Furthermore, it is also emphasised that if the prison population is correctly immunised, it will be able to return to a normal life, by removing preventive restrictions on communications and exit permits. This campaign has been quite effective as the vaccination refusal rate is currently around 3.5% in practically all prisons.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?In our prison environment, no significant vaccine rejection has been observed in these groups. In any case what is done is to periodically reiterate, through Health Education, the benefits of vaccination in order to return to a normal life in prison with family and intimate communications and to eliminate the need for quarantines when returning from leave. This strategy is having a very positive result: the vaccination rate in most prisons is over 96%.
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service (SPSS) has not received any own allocation of vaccines against covid-19, therefore the SPSS cooperates with Sweden's 21 healthcare regions. The SPSS has a vaccination plan against covid-19 with the aim that all clients in custody and prison should have been offered vaccination against covid-19 by September 5th 2021. This corresponds to the Swedish government's vaccination target. The goal is that 75% of the clients agrees to vaccination and thereby achieve herd immunity. Vaccination against covid-19 in Sweden is voluntary. Staff working in custody and prison have a big task when it comes to informing and motivating clients to get vaccinated, but it is ultimately the individual client's decision whether they want to get vaccinated or not. To support the work to increase the willingness to vaccinate among clients, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service has produced information and support material as a mean for being able to talk to clients about the benefits of vaccination against covid-19, including a FAQ.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?One thing that has emerged during the work with the vaccinations is that clients in custody, largely than in prison, refuse vaccination. One explanation could be, that clients in custody, more than in prison, are often isolated /disconnected from the opportunity to take part in the flow of information that individuals in freedom can take part in, ex. media. Consequently, it can be difficult both in custody and in prison for the clients to make an informed decision about if they should get vaccinated or not. For clients in prison, vaccination against covid-19 means that they may go out in community on the ward, receive visits and go on leave under more normal conditions. All of these factors can act as a motivator for the individual client in prison to get vaccinated. Furthermore, clients in custody and prison in Sweden generally consist of a young population and it is not uncommon for underlying problems such as substance abuse, addiction, homelessness and physical and/or mental illness to occur. Many do not have Swedish as their mother tongue. Many of the clients are thus considered a difficult group to reach for the regular healthcare system, due to their problems/criminal lifestyle. By offering these individuals vaccination against covid-19 in custody and prisons, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service makes a great contribution to society. To reach as many clients as possible, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service has produced information material about vaccination against covid-19 in several different languages.
1. The Latvian Prison Administration (hereinafter – Administration) has no specific communication strategies or other innovative approaches to encourage uptake of vaccinations in prisons. The Administration operates in accordance with the Cabinet Regulation No.360 “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection” dated 9 June 2020, the internal orders and the official information regarding safety measures and vaccination issued by the Ministry of Health of Latvia. The medical department staff carries out the educational process for prisoners and ensures the vaccination process. While, prison staff, i.e. resocialisation employees, are involved in facilitating the vaccination process.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?2. From 8 October 2020 to 30 June 2021, due to the spread of COVID-19 in Latvian prisons, the Administration issued an order in the framework of which visits and family days in prisons were cancelled. At the moment, prisoners are motivated to vaccinate due to the cancellation of restrictions from 1 July 2021, including restrictions on the provision of short-term and long-term visits to prisoners. Prisoners will have the right to use the unused short-term and long-term visits with relatives and other persons for the period from 1 October 2020 to 30 June 2021. From 1 July 2021, an adult will be able to visit the place of imprisonment, presenting a vaccination certificate, a negative COVID-19 test or a certificate from a family doctor stating that a person got through COVID-19 infection.
Norwegian Prisons are run using the so-called import model. This means that different publicbodies deliver services to inmates in prisons, in the same way they also deliver these services to people in the community outside of prison. Examples include health services, schooling/education, Nav (Norwegian Work and Welfare Services), library services, etc. The responsibility of the Correctional Service in providing these types of services is regulated through the Execution of Sentences Act § 4 (Administrative cooperation), which reads “Through cooperation with other government agencies, the Norwegian Correctional Service shall ensure that convicted persons and inmates in custody on remand receive the services that they have a statutory right to. The cooperation shall contribute to a coordinated effort to cover the needs of convicted persons and inmates and to promote their return to society”. This means that it is the responsibility of the Norwegian Directorate of Health to inform, and execute the vaccination to the whole Norwegian population, including inmates.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?See question no 1.
In most cases there is no communication strategy. Inmates are informed by medical staff, educational staff, psychologists, etc. about the mode of infection, prevention measures, safe behaviours, useful references and other information concerning COVID-19 infection.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?Up to this moment, 1030 inmates have been vaccinated, so that 1000 doses issued in the first tranche have been exhausted. These days, another 1000 doses (I dose) of vaccine against COVID-19 have been received, and there is no a great reticence. We encourage vaccination by the fact that those vaccinated will have short and long-term meetings started.
No special communication strategies have been launched. The medical staff encourages inmates to get vaccinated by providing and explaining medical information about vaccines and benefits a person gets from vaccination. The main task now is to give access to vaccines to anyone who wants them. Vaccination is voluntary and is given free of charge.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?The Ministry of Justice is currently initiating additional motivational measure to increase the scope of vaccination in prisons. Prison officers will be granted an additional day off after vaccination, pre-trial detainees and sentenced inmates will be granted an additional short-term visit. Vaccination in prisons is promoted as the most successful and cost-efficient public health intervention that helps to fight communicable diseases.
There is a permanent information flow between inmates and medical staff, for example in form of newsletters in various languages. Where appropriate, each contact to medical staff is including information about vaccination possibilities. For working inmates there are several possibilities to reduce the time of wearing masks, if vaccinated.
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?Please see answer above.
With regard to the communication about the detainees’ vaccination, we collaborated very closely with the services of the Communities. Indeed, preventive health care – and consequently vaccination – is a regionalized competence in Belgium. The Flemish administration authorized us to tailor the communication material that they prepared (leaflets and posters) to our specific needs in the prison context. As for Brussels and Wallonia, the competent services of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles made the adjustments themselves, after which the material was distributed. Our detainees had access to the communications directed at the wider population via the traditional media (TV and radio are available in the prisons) as well. Furthermore, the medical services in all our institutions talked directly to the detainees when vaccination readiness was inquired after during the preparation of the vaccination strategy. In Wallonia, the SES, a service of the AVIQ (the French-speaking health service), expanded on that. The strategy that we applied for ALL detainees, regardless of the category to which they belong, is raising awareness. Vaccination is not compulsory!
What approach is your jurisdiction taking in prisons to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in cohorts who are more likely to decline, i.e. young people and people from ethnic minorities?With regard to the communication about the detainees’ vaccination, we collaborated very closely with the services of the Communities. Indeed, preventive health care – and consequently vaccination – is a regionalized competence in Belgium. The Flemish administration authorized us to tailor the communication material that they prepared (leaflets and posters) to our specific needs in the prison context. As for Brussels and Wallonia, the competent services of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles made the adjustments themselves, after which the material was distributed. Our detainees had access to the communications directed at the wider population via the traditional media (TV and radio are available in the prisons) as well. Furthermore, the medical services in all our institutions talked directly to the detainees when vaccination readiness was inquired after during the preparation of the vaccination strategy. In Wallonia, the SES, a service of the AVIQ (the French-speaking health service), expanded on that. The strategy that we applied for ALL detainees, regardless of the category to which they belong, is raising awareness. Vaccination is not compulsory!