Virus death rate 5 times higher in prisons than state as a whole, even higher when adjusted for age, sex and race; both 3rd in U.S.

Covid-19 mortality rates in state and federal prisons as of Aug. 15,
compared with state mortality rates and adjusted to match inmates’
sex, age race and ethnicity. Graph is from the NCCCJ report.
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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
Kentucky prisons have the third highest covid-19 death rate compared to death rates for the disease among the state’s whole population, even after rates are adjusted for the sex, age, race and ethnicity of inmates, says a study from the National Commission on Covid-19 and Criminal Justice.
As of mid-August, the report found Kentucky’s prisons’ covid-19 death rate was five times the state’s overall, unadjusted death rate from the disease: 89.5 deaths per 100,000 prisoners, compared to 18.1 deaths per 100,000 residents.
After adjusting for inmates’ demographic characteristics, the prisons’ covid-19 death rate was 13.8 times higher than the overall death rate for the disease in Kentucky.
Arkansas had the highest covid-19 death rates in prisons, both adjusted and unadjusted. New Mexico ranked second in the adjusted rate and Ohio ranked second in the unadjusted rate.
In coroinavirus cases, Kentucky’s prisons ranked eighth in the nation, with a case rate 7.9% higher than the state s a whole. The researchers were not able to make demographic adjustments in case figures due to a lack of available data. Kentucky reports demographics of cases, but many states do not.
The report calls state and federal prisons “covid-19 hotspots,” with new cases of the virus increasing rapidly in July and August.