This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Kern Valley.
Hello PrisonPandemic,
I received your letter a couple of days ago and was somewhat surprised as I don’t get much mail. I hope you are well and making strives to meet your goals of higher education. May your endeavors be fulfilling.
I’m sure you are aware of the numbers of the inmate population being sick and those that have died. What you don’t know is that we, the incarcerated, are provided bare minimum of medical attention.
There are procedures in place to ensure that we are seen and evaluated by a medical professional. But they think that all inmates are out to con their way into getting high on drugs or getting something not normally provided. So we are forced to go on requesting medical attention for an extended, before our needs are looked into.
Sometimes we have to fake medical grievances, forcing the medical department to see the person requesting medical attention. I contacted COVID-19 right before Christmas. I lost taste, smell, and had back pains for about ten days. The entire housing unit I live had caught it by the new year.
Inmates were moved to isolation when the numbers grew so high the administration decided to just leave everyone where they were. Those that got so sick that they COVID, no longer breathe without oxygen, were moved to the hospital unit and then transferred. No inmate is safe from contracting the virus.
The officers are the primary carriers that bring it into the prison and then refuse to wear their mask. Sometimes even opted not to get the vaccines. I have been provided the Moderna vaccination and I’ve gotten both of my shots. The first was in January 2021, and the second in February 2021.
I was also given a COVID-19 vaccination record card. Prison has been placed on many lockdowns and visits have been completely stopped. I believe they were just restarted for prisoners and their family members who can verify that they have been vaccinated.
I hope these few lines will provide at least some insights. Thanks for your letter, and feel free to get at me anytime. I’m never too busy.
