This story was told by a person incarcerated at Orange County Central Men’s Jail.
UCI: And how has the vaccination situation been like at your facility?
Caller: They say that it’s not a forced decision to make, but they make it where you feel you are forced into getting one of the shots. If you don’t get the shot, there is repercussions, makes you feel there is repercussions for it. Like they’re gonna put us in a separate cell, away from everybody else.
UCI: I see, and in terms of distribution are there like enough to go around ’cause, or, are do you think more, like most of the incarcerated folks there are hesitant to get the shot?
Caller: They do now, but when it first came out, no there wasn’t enough. And we were still wondering, it was only a month into the shots being available for the people outside, and we weren’t given adequate information whether the shot was safe and what it was gonna do to our bodies once we had the shot.
UCI: I see, and has there any been any major breakouts of infection at your facility?
Caller: That’s a hard question to answer because they wont give us that information. We had to hear a lot of information from other people just hearsay. We weren’t told whether or not somebody had it or didn’t have it.
UCI: And, I see, and in terms of I guess prison staff how have they been handling the COVID-19 crisis. In terms of safety protocol, like are they wearing their mask and sanitizing properly and do they-
Caller: No.
UCI: make these supplies available?
Caller: No, not at all, not at all. And they weren’t social distancing, they put us in, in tight quarters the whole time. A lot of times they come through without their mask on.
One, one deputy told us a story they he went to a donut shop before he came here and the lady got upset with him not wearing a mask which, when he walked into that store to get something, you know to get a donut to eat and then he comes here still not wearing his mask and he told us that story.
UCI: I see, and then can you elaborate more in terms of your living situation, has it, is it different now than it was at the beginning of COVID or has it stayed the same?
Caller: It stayed the same. We have a hard time getting cleaning supplies as well. Our trash situation is horrible, we’re not getting the trash removed everyday.
UCI: And to what extent do you think COVID-19 protocols are being followed at your facility?
Caller: I’m not real sure I can answer that question because I’m not sure what all the protocols they have to follow.
UCI: Oh, sorry, in terms of social distancing and having supplies and being separated from infected individuals as soon as possible.
Caller: We wouldn’t know because we don’t, they don’t give us the information that other people are infected. And the social distancing, there was no social distancing.
UCI: I see.
Caller: We would sleep next to another person that had, either had it or didn’t have it. The sleeping quarters weren’t separated.
