DC jail employees start getting flu shots as department ramps up efforts

• 1,500 corrections officers’ guardianship petitions have been processed • 621 vaccines have been administered • 198 nurses have received flu vaccinations • 60 medical facilities have reported vaccine compliance • 56 medical facilities…

DC jail employees start getting flu shots as department ramps up efforts

• 1,500 corrections officers’ guardianship petitions have been processed

• 621 vaccines have been administered

• 198 nurses have received flu vaccinations

• 60 medical facilities have reported vaccine compliance

• 56 medical facilities have reported adherence to new vaccination requirements

• Overnight house arrest cameras installed across the DC prison system

• Inspection of all DC jail buildings by an independent panel

Dr. Karen Loeffler, chief medical officer of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said in a letter to the White House that there are 96 inmates who will be transported to the Logan Federal Correctional Complex on Monday.

“By DC standards this is a relatively low transfer rate,” Loeffler wrote. “Although we cannot yet determine the full impact that the MSSF mandate will have on staffing levels at the District of Columbia Sheriff’s Office, we anticipate continued overall staff reductions in both the detention and security areas.”

Dr. Loretta Tate, chief medical officer for the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said in a letter to the White House that her agency had conducted “a rigorous review” of DMPD’s request to exempt employees from the officer mandate and determined that “an exception to accommodate staff operating on limited leave was appropriate.”

While 98% of the DC jail staff has received their vaccines, Tate said nearly 100% of the facility’s adult medical workers and 96% of the jail’s female medical workers have been vaccinated.

“Treatment of inmates is a law enforcement mission. This mission includes ensuring that all prisoners are vaccinated against communicable disease and the risk to public health and safety from the spread of communicable disease through infectious diseases has to be addressed in order to fulfill their sworn duty of preserving and protecting life,” Tate wrote.

Following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the District’s jail and corrections agency reported 1,497 corrections officers’ guardianship petitions had been filed by affected officers as of Thursday, or 75% of all those currently with the law enforcement agency.

“The Department has prioritized screening these petitions,” Tate wrote. “While only 125 of these petitions (10%) are active and the vast majority have been found to be ineligible, 122 (96%) have been processed and remain on track to be processed in the near future.”

In a statement, the DC jail pointed to its staff’s training in vaccinating wardens and other supervisors, as well as operations manager Don Briggs, who has indicated his willingness to provide vaccination assistance to affected officers.

“More than 400 corrections officers have not completed the standard jail physical exam, even though all of them must be vaccinated. We urge them to take this item off of their calendars because, for over a month, the Special Counsel’s team has been diligently reviewing how we are administering and following its guidance in accordance with the federal rules,” the statement said.

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