MONTREAL -- Vaccination rates are slowly creeping up at Bordeaux prison, an institution that has seen major COVID-19 outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.
According to data from Quebec's public safety ministry, 472 of the 888 people incarcerated at the prison in Montreal had been vaccinated as of July 15, just 62 more than a month ago.
Almost three months after vaccinations began in the institution, just over 50 per cent of the prison population has received one dose -- these statistics may not be accurate, however, because they are cumulative and vaccinated individuals may have since left the prison to be replaced by unvaccinated individuals or vice versa.
The regional health board plans to conduct a 'second dose vaccination operation' in the facility at the end of this month.
In total, close to 270 cases have been reported in people incarcerated in Bordeaux since the start of the pandemic.
While the institution accounts for approximately one-quarter of the provincial prison population, Bordeaux has reported more than 40 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Quebec prisons.
At 302 cases per 1,000 inmates, the Gouin Boulevard prison has a rate almost twice as high as that of all Quebec prisons (172 cases/1,000).
After several weeks without a case in the institution, a case had broken out among a staff member of the Bordeaux prison a few days ago.
- This article was first published by the Local Journalism Initiative / Journal des voisins on July 20, 2021.
