By , Stone Center Postdoctoral Scholar (2020–2022)
Spotlight on Policy
In this commentary, Jaquelyn Jahn, a social epidemiologist who will be joining the Stone Center as a postdoctoral scholar this fall, discusses the consequences of the pandemic on incarcerated populations.
In recent weeks, as disaggregated U.S. data have become more available, media and academic commentaries have highlighted how the Covid-19 pandemic reveals and heightens inequities across social class and race. A compelling example is in how the pandemic exacerbates the already unhealthy conditions of confinement for people incarcerated in jails, prisons, and detention centers in the U.S. and around the world.
Overcrowding and inadequate medical care in jails and prisons put incarcerated people at greater risk of contracting and dying from the disease (as is clear in New York City data). Indeed, physical distancing is impossible in settings where people live and sleep in close contact, and share toilets, showers, and eating areas. For jails in particular, the conditions that promote transmission, combined with large movements of people in and out, potentially amplify the spread of Covid-19 into surrounding communities. Jail and prison staff also carry the virus between carceral facilities and communities.
Incarcerated populations bear some of the largest burdens of chronic disease that make them particularly vulnerable to worse outcomes after Covid-19 infection. Moreover, largely due to harsh sentencing laws, there are many incarcerated people who are elderly and are now at greater risk of dying. There are also huge racial/ethnic inequities in rates of incarceration in the United States, so the burden of Covid-19 in incarcerated populations will likely contribute to overall black-white disparities in infection and mortality.
At this time when incarceration puts individuals in potentially life-threatening danger, many localities across the country are increasing parole releases, suspending medical co-pays, and releasing people pre-trial. However, some response and recovery efforts also risk perpetuating the same kinds of economic and racial marginalization that contribute to inequities in Covid-19. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, for example, disqualifies loans applicants who were convicted of or placed on parole for a felony within the last five years. What I hope for, in this moment where unjust and preventable health inequities are “under the blacklight”, is for a broader public engagement with how social policies, like those that contribute to mass incarceration, widen or narrow health inequities.
Related Commentary: Check out our page on the Covid-19 Crisis and Response