All inmates at San Diego County Jails are now able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Every inmate became eligible to receive the shots under new California Department of Public Health guidelines that started on March 15. To date, 427 inmates have been vaccinated.

The Sheriff's Department had already been vaccinating inmates as part of the age 65 and greater group that was authorized under that tier. This was done when vaccinations were made available. 27 inmates were vaccinated in this group.

Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary. To date, 221 inmates have refused the vaccine. We will continue our vaccine education program by answering questions or concerns about the shots. We will still offer the vaccine to those who initially declined a dose.

The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) supplies the Sheriff’s Department with the vaccine. As of March 19, our allocated supply from HHSA has been exhausted. HHSA assured us more vaccines will be coming our way.

The Sheriff’s Department has administered the Moderna vaccine requiring two doses. Inmates who are released prior to getting their second injection are provided information on how to receive their second dose. Inmates vaccinated under the new tier received the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine.

Our medical personnel have done a tremendous job getting the vaccine into the arms of inmates as soon as we receive the doses from HHSA. We are working in consultation with public health officials on our vaccine rollout. You can learn more about our vaccination plan by visiting our website. We are also working on a vaccination tracking system and weekly vaccination information will soon be available on www.sdsheriff.gov.

Despite the availability of the vaccine, COVID-19 protocols will continue in our jails. All inmates are asked to submit to a COVID-19 test at the time they are booked into jail. This test cannot be forced. Inmates are educated on the benefits of testing but approximately half of them have refused a test at the time of booking. As part of a long-standing mitigation protocol, any new inmate is placed in quarantine for seven days and monitored for symptoms before placed with the general population.

The safety, health and well-being of the people in our custody is of paramount importance. You can learn more about all the safeguards we have in place to limit the spread of the virus at www.sdsheriff.gov. Click on the COVID-19 Response slide on the homepage.