skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Misinformation About COVID-19 Shot Spreads Inside FL Prisons

play audio
Play

Friday, April 23, 2021   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After months of keeping Floridians in prisons and jails off the priority list for a COVID vaccine, the state is finally distributing the shots. But despite their vulnerability, many inside are skeptical.

Florida's Department of Corrections Secretary issued a recent statement, with a personal appeal to staff and anyone incarcerated to "get the shot." But families and advocacy groups say good information is hard to come by from the inside, so people are leery.

Denise Rock, executive director of the Florida Cares Charity Corporation, said the department should do more to establish trust around the vaccine, because misinformation sticks.

"Like, I think what's probably being said is the same stuff that we hear in society," said Rock. "But they're hearing it differently, being incarcerated and not having, you know, information or being exposed to information."

Rock praised the Corrections Department for making the vaccines available, although it is still tight-lipped. It says about 33,000 people have elected to receive a vaccination, but they're tracked by a person's county residency, and lumped into the countywide statistics collected by the Florida Department of Health.

Trish Brown, director of community outreach and engagement at the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, said the state should have released people who are most vulnerable - and could still do so, since the facilities aren't equipped to manage a pandemic.

She said she's hearing from people inside who are worried.

"'We're scared and we're worried' - again, the way the prisons are set up, where people are in close spaces, it's just not conducive to continue to keep around people," said Brown.

Her group and others are recommending at least providing people behind bars with information on paper, because they're hearing only those who choose to be vaccinated get access to additional information. They believe it's important to give people the time and details they need to make an informed decision.




get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021