# Mitigating COVID-19 transmission in U.S. jails

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $328,327

## Abstract

Project Summary
Congregate settings, such as large urban jails, have been significantly impacted by COVID. While prevention
strategies from hospitals can be implemented, there are unique challenges to preventing transmission within
jails that warrant additional attention. Our primary objective of this supplement is to model infection prevention
and mitigations strategies for COVID in a large urban jail. Specifically, we will test strategies that have been
employed at the jail at (1) admission to the jail, (2) during incarceration, and (3) at discharge to gauge the
impact each strategy has had and to forecast downstream impact of COIVID in jails. We will also examine the
impact of COVID spread in jails on the burden of infection in the community. One major strategy employed
across the country to reduce spread within jails is to encourage release of low-risk, nonviolent offenders.
However, the downstream impact in the community of this intervention is unknown and it is critical to examine
what intermediate steps may be necessary, i.e. a ‘step-down’ quarantine period. Given the central role the jail
is hypothesized to play in propagating the spread of MRSA to high-poverty, inner-city neighborhoods, our
proposal to examine COVID has significant

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10265771
- **Project number:** 3R01AI146079-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Kyle Jeanne Popovich
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $328,327
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-08-27 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10265771

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10265771, Mitigating COVID-19 transmission in U.S. jails (3R01AI146079-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10265771. Licensed CC0.

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