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Incarcerated Person In Washington Speaks Out On COVID-19 Conditions, Early Vaccine Consideration

Wire fences near buildings of the Federal Medical Center prison in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, May 16, 2020. Hundreds of inmates inside the facility have tested positive for COVID-19. (LM Otero/AP)
Wire fences near buildings of the Federal Medical Center prison in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, May 16, 2020. Hundreds of inmates inside the facility have tested positive for COVID-19. (LM Otero/AP)

Overcrowded prisons are hotspots for COVID-19 outbreaks, and many incarcerated people have died since the start of the pandemic. Christopher Blackwell is incarcerated at Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington state, where he’s been on extended lockdown after a severe outbreak affected most of his floor.

Host Peter O’Dowd speaks with Blackwell about the conditions he has observed and his call for prisoners to get the vaccine early.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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