Study finds COVID-19 infection rate in Mass. jails, prisons nearly 3 times of state’s general pop.
By Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com Staff
Boston researchers say immediate actions must be taken to address the spread of coronavirus among incarcerated individuals after finding that the infection rate of COVID-19 in Massachusetts jails and prisons is nearly three times that of the state’s general population.
The new study, from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University, was published Friday in JAMA Network Open. The researchers analyzed data that was publicly available from 16 Massachusetts Department of Corrections facilities and 13 county systems from April through the beginning of July and found that, not only was the rate of infection higher than that among state residents, but it was five times the United States rate.