(BOP) - The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) continues to receive, distribute, and administer the COVID-19 vaccine under guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a public-private partnership established by the federal government known as Operation Warp Speed (OWS). The COVID-19 vaccine has been delivered to staff and inmates at more than half of the BOP's correctional facilities across the country. Based on weekly allocations determined by the CDC and OWS, all of the BOP's facilities are expected to receive their first dose by mid-February.
Recognizing the importance of this initiative, as vaccinations protect staff and inmates as well community members outside prison, the BOP made administration of the COVID-19 vaccine a top priority. According to data available from the CDC on January 15, 2021, the BOP leads all jurisdictions and Federal entities in its rate of vaccination utilization, having administered 97 percent of all COVID-19 vaccine doses received. The remaining three percent of allocated doses are currently being administered. These efforts to ensure successful vaccination were commended by OWS.
The vaccine is broadly offered to staff, roughly half of whom have opted to vaccinate at recipient locations. A plan was developed to offer the vaccine to the inmate population as additional doses become available and based on priority of need in accordance with CDC guidelines and as determined by OWS. As of January 15, 2021, the BOP administered 17,189 doses of the vaccine. One dose has been administered to 7,576 staff and 5,457 inmates. A completed series of two doses have been administered to 1,027 staff and 1,051 inmates. More information about the vaccine, and its use within the BOP, can be found in the COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance.
The BOP has taken swift and effective action in response to COVID-19 and has emerged as a correctional leader in the pandemic. All of the BOP's facilities are implementing the guidance provided on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 as indicated on the COVID-19 Resource page. It is the BOP's highest priority to continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our facilities.