STC Executive Goes to Jail (with a vaccination strike team)

I’d come to town to attend a regional coalition meeting and to discuss a project with the CHIRP team (Children and Hoosiers Immunization Registry Program). The Indiana Immunization Division Director, Dave McCormick, mentioned, “If you want to see (the state registry of vaccinations) in action, we have a strike team going to the jail tomorrow. Wanna go?” Oh yeah. Count me in!

There’s been an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Indiana. That led to the formation of strike teams, each with three nurses, visiting jails and homeless shelters. Our strike team went pod by pod, first on the men’s side, then women’s, and in each group of cells one of the nurses would explain the situation and offer vaccinations. Most agreed, and when they did, we would look them up in the state vaccination registry. (We found many of the prisoners in the system and we could see that for some, their parents had taken them for their childhood shots.)

Some surprises: As we worked with the men, I learned that many large, intimidating guys were unabashedly afraid of needles. At the same time, I was pleased to find that all were unfailingly polite and we heard many a “Thank you, ma’am.” There was also an uncommon willingness to ask, “Can I get tested for HIV?” (They were referred for testing.) And there was one man who asked of the vaccination, “If I already have hepatitis, will this cure it?”

Overall, my biggest takeaway from my day was how impressive it is to see public health in action – to see people making a difference, responding quickly and professionally to a crisis. It makes you proud to play a small role in the battle against disease.

As for progress in this current battle, please visit the Indiana State Department of Health’s website for updates on the outbreak. You can find it at:   https://www.in.gov/isdh/27791.htm

At the time of this writing, there were 559 recorded cases of Hepatitis A, with 251 hospitalizations and one death.

The full report of Tiffany’s visit is available at:

https://www.in.gov/isdh/27791.htm

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