Coronavirus UK study: ‘Prisoners should get vaccine before over-60s’

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Criminals locked up in prison should among the first groups of people to get a coronavirus vaccine when one is available, experts have today urged. 

Oxford scientists looked at the risk coronavirus poses to prisoners and found the close proximity to other people, reluctance to disclose symptoms and high prevalence of comorbidities makes society’s incarcerated a ‘high-risk’ group. 

Professor Seena Fazel led a review of 28 studies looking at prison outbreaks, including of TB, flu and Covid-19. 

He believes there needs to be discussion among politicians and experts about how to protect this ‘vulnerable’ group of people and to determine where they will fit in the Government roll-out of a vaccine. 

Plans previously released by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) do not specify where prisoners are on the priority list.  

Currently, care home residents and staff will be the first to get a Covid-19 vaccine when one is approved. Everyone over the age of 80 and NHS staff will be second.

Professor Fazel told MailOnline prison workers should fall into this group because of the risk of them transmitting the virus from the community into the prison, and vice versa. 

The jabs will then be prioritised according to age and general health, with healthy under-50s last in line.

However, Professor Fazel’s proposal would see prisoners skip the queue and be ahead of over 60s, but behind over-65s. 

‘My view would be around the category of “high risk adults under 65”,’ Dr Fazel told MailOnline. 

‘There is also the issue of prison officer and other prison staff – not sure where they should go. Possibly with other health and social staff.’

There have been several coronavirus outbreaks in prisons.

One organisation claimed that in early June, across 79 countries, 73,254 prisoners tested positive for COVID-19, of which more than 1,100 died from complications.

‘Overall, infection rates in custodial facilities both among prisoners and staff appear to be higher than in the general population, including in the USA, and England and Wales,’ the researchers say in their study. 

Last week, the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe died of SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia, effectively the same as Covd-19, which he caught while at HMP Frankland in Durham.

In the study, published recently in the journal BMJ Global health, the researchers explain that prisons are petri-dishes allowing for swift spread of infection. 

‘There is a high risk of rapid transmission due to high population density and turnover, overcrowding and frequent movements within and between establishments,’ the researchers write. 

‘In addition, there is a high proportion of people in prison who may be more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 due to underlying risk factors (such as male sex, older adults and having chronic underlying health conditions).

‘In England and Wales, for example, around 95 per cent of prisoners are men, and four per cent are aged 60 and older.’

Poor ventilation, hygiene and sanitation further compounds the issue, they say. 

Professor Fazel said: ‘Prisons are high-risk settings for the transmission of contagious diseases and there are considerable challenges in managing outbreaks in them. 

‘Our research suggests that people in prison should be among the first groups to receive any COVID-19 vaccine to protect against infection and to prevent further spread of the disease. 

‘The prison population is generally at higher risk of complications from infection because of the increased prevalence of underlying health conditions, and the overrepresentation of marginalised groups that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. 

‘A public health approach to managing COVID-19 in prisons is important now and for any future infectious disease outbreaks.’  

Today, leaked NHS plans reveal coronavirus vaccinations could be under way as soon as next month if a vaccine is approved on schedule. 

Documents seen by the Health Service Journal suggest even those in the lowest risk group may be able to start getting vaccinated in just two months’ time if everything goes to plan.  

The files say all pencilled-in dates for vaccines are dependent on the arrival of supplies – with up to seven million doses expected next month – and are based on NHS proposals to create huge GP-run facilities to deliver the shots.

Regulators are expected to approve at least one vaccine by the end of the year, with a £15-a-dose jab from Pfizer currently odds-on to be the first to get a licence.  

The UK has ordered 40million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine – with the first batch set to arrive next month – and five million of Moderna’s – which are due in spring next year. It also has an order in place for up to 100million vials of Oxford’s candidate which scientists say should finish clinical trials by Christmas.

The leaked plans suggest vaccines could be made available to all UK adults by the end of January but the bulk of 18 to 50 year-olds would likely be vaccinated in March with an aim that everyone in Britain who wants a jab will have had one by April.   

The roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine will be one of the biggest medical projects in modern British history and the rapid nature of the proposed timetable will inevitably prompt questions over whether it is actually deliverable.  

Critics will likely point to the Government’s record on previous pandemic-related health initiatives like the delayed development of the contact tracing app and rocky first few months for NHS Test and Trace as evidence that ministers may struggle to hit the targets.

It came after Matt Hancock said vulnerable Britons could start to be vaccinated against Covid-19 within weeks, as he promised to take ‘personal control’ of the immunisation drive.