Marquez N, Ward JA, Parish K, et al. - COVID-19 cases and deaths were examined among US federal and state prisoners during the first 52 weeks of the pandemic. Further, these rates were compared with the rates in the overall US population, updating a previously published report analyzing COVID-19 incidence and mortality in prisons through June 6, 2020.

• The UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project collected data concerning COVID-19 cases and deaths among prisoners in all 50 state prison systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

• Data concerning counts were extracted from departments of corrections websites and, as needed, supplemented with data obtained by the Marshall Project and the Associated Press.

• Among the US prison population, a total of 394,066 COVID-19 cases and 2,555 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported by April 3, 2021.

• For the prison and US population, the cumulative incidence rates per 100,000 persons were 30,780 and 9,350 cases respectively, with a prison-to-US cumulative incidence ratio of 3.3.

• The standardized mortality rates per 100,000 persons were 199.6 and 80.9 deaths for the two populations, respectively, with a prison-to-US standardized cumulative mortality rate ratio of 2.5.

• Overall, the prison population showed consistently higher COVID-19 incidence and standardized mortality rates in the first year of the pandemic when compared with those in the overall US population.

• While COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates peaked in late 2020 and early 2021 and their decline is occurring thereafter, the prison population had several times greater cumulative toll of COVID-19 relative to the overall US population.