If they receive both doses, view and read educational materials and submit a form for approval, they could shorten their sentence, the Department of Corrections said in a memorandum.
The incentive is made possible by a law in Massachusetts, which provides that inmates are “eligible to earn deductions from sentences and completion credits, collectively known as good deductions, for participating in and completing programs and activities” as set forth in the law .
This is what Carol A. Mici, Commissioner of the Department of Correction, described as ‘earned time’ (EGT) in a January 28 memo addressed to inmates / patients.
Prisoners who complete the required steps, according to the memo, are eligible for a total of seven and a half days EGT.
“I have determined that receiving the vaccine is significantly valuable for rehabilitation and therefore I will offer deserved earning time,” Mici wrote.
Prisons remain a focus for Covid-19
Massachusetts is one of only a few states, including inmates in the first phase of vaccine distribution.
When the memo was sent on January 28, more than 3,500 inmates received the vaccine, Mici writes.
Prisons have been a hotbed of viral infection since the early days of the pandemic.
According to the Covid Prison Project, which monitors Covid-19 in correctional facilities across the U.S., there have been 368,271 Covid-19 cases and 2,256 related deaths among inmates so far.
“If we just look at the epidemiology of Covid-19 where the outbreaks were, it’s really hard to ignore prisons and prisons,” said Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, an assistant professor of social medicine at the University of the North. Carolina in Chapel Hill and co-founder of the project, CNN said last month. “They were really the epicenter in many ways.”
In December, more than 480 health experts signed an open letter urging the CDC advisory group to prioritize captive populations before vaccinations.
Virginia also offers incentives to inmates
Massachusetts is not the only state that offers incentives to inmates who are eligible for vaccination.
The Virginia Department of Corrections announced on January 21 that inmates receiving the vaccine will receive “free e-stamps and phone credits” along with packets of commissioner documents, such as snacks.
Incentives other than EGT in Massachusetts were not disclosed.