As COVID-19 vaccinations begin at DeKalb County Jail, dozens of inmates are opting out

SYCAMORE – DeKalb County Jail staff members are encouraging inmates to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccine, though dozens are choosing not to since it became available to them this week through the local health department.

Joyce Klein, chief of corrections for DeKalb County Jail, said there have been about two dozen inmates that have either expressed explicit interest in receiving the vaccine or told staff they may be interested. The rest of the current inmates – more than 80 – have not said they were interested. When asked why that might be, she said she really isn’t sure and wonders if it’s just normal hesitancy of effectiveness or side effects.

“I don’t understand it myself,” Klein said.

Sean, an inmate within DeKalb County Jail received his first dose on Wednesday and anticipates still being incarcerated when it’s time to get his second dose.

“There was no pain,” Sean said. “The nurse here at the jail administered it and it went without a hitch.”

Sean spoke to the Daily Chronicle on the condition of only his first name being used in print. Daily Chronicle verified Sean is a current inmate of the county jail and does a pending case within the local court system.

Sean said he personally wanted to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of the jail being a more confined space by design. Sure, inmates wear their masks and socially distance from each other, he said, but you just never know how or when you can be exposed – especially within a more communal setting like a jail.

“It’s just a relief to get it after everything being out there for so long,” Sean said.

Klein said there have been about 10 vaccine doses administered for inmates on Tuesday. She said that’s more or less the daily goal for the rest of the week.

“We’re hoping to give 30 shots this week,” Klein said on Tuesday.

Klein said there have been three cases of COVID-19 among corrections staff since March 2020 and there have been no inmates who tested positive for the illness. She said that number hasn’t changed since last November.

Klein said all inmates now are eligible to get the vaccine if they so chose. She said that’s at the recommendation of the DeKalb County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health, along with the jail no longer having in-person visits or volunteers coming in in person. Inmates continue to receive counseling and participate in programs like bible study via Zoom.

“We’re just sort of treading water and hoping to get to other side,” Klein said.

Klein said she can understand how it could be frustrating for people outside of the jail to not get the vaccine while it’s available to inmates, just as they might be frustrated about any other group being ahead of them in line. Not only do inmates have basic human rights and safety, she said, another thing for the public to consider is people get released from jail as well.

“If we want [the community] safe, we want anybody who gets released to get vaccines,” Klein said. " ... This is a community effort. That’s how I look at it.”

When vaccine is available for inmates inside the jail, local health officials contact jail staff to set up a clinic, Klein said.

“Once we got that information, we went around and we asked all the inmates,” Klein said. “And then we created our sheet of who said yes and who said maybe and went from there.”

In the event that an inmate is released from the jail before getting the second dose of the vaccine, Klein said, it would be on the inmate to contact the health department on their own to schedule that second dose.

“We might be somewhere between the 18-20 mark for vaccinations [as of Wednesday],” Klein said. “ ... If we don’t use the whole vial, we will get that unused dose to the health department so they can dispense that to someone.”

DeKalb County Health Department officials deferred to Klein for vaccination numbers, though confirmed they administer the vaccines to jail inmates.

Klein said no inmates who declined to receive the vaccine were immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Sean said he’s not entirely sure why other inmates are electing to not get the Moderna vaccine. He thinks it might be just personal preferences on their parts, he said.

“I’m not here to judge them, either,” Sean said. “I just know I don’t want to get [the virus].”

Sean said he anticipates eventually getting out of jail and getting back into the work force. With that will come being around more people, he said.

“It’s just a safety net, to know I have the vaccine,” Sean said.

Sean said he also personally knew quite a few people who did get sick, including two relatives who had the illness.

“I don’t want to get sick and transfer it to someone else, that’s for sure,” Sean said.

Sean said he, too, understands people’s frustrations of jail inmates getting vaccinated. He said it’s important to remember that inmates are at a greater risk because of the confined space they’re in, and it doesn’t help that he also has some underlying health conditions that put him at more of a risk personally.

“I definitely can take their questions to heart,” Sean said. “But on the same token, I’m just at a greater risk, as they are.”

The bottom line is that jail inmates are people, too, and they should have basic human rights, Sean said – including the safety a vaccine for a disease like COVID-19 provides.

“People have to understand that,” Sean said.