State offering inmates $25 incentive to get booster shot
The state is offering a $25 incentive for fully vaccinated inmates in the custody of the Department of Public Safety.
The move follows department’s $50 incentive announced in October 2021 aimed at getting inmates their first COVID-19 shots. The payments are deposited into the inmate’s spendable trust account.
“The continuing goal of this initiative is to get as many inmates as possible vaccinated. This will help ensure their health and safety, as well as that of our dedicated staff,” said Tommy Johnson, deputy director for corrections.
The funding for the incentive comes via $615,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. So far $146,400 has been expended, according to the department.
COVID-19 testing is continuously being conducted in the state prisons and jails as well as in the contracted Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona.
On Monday, the state rpeorted 64 inmate results with four of them coming back positive for COVID-19. Four staff test results were received; three were positive.
