In Fall 2019 Sean went to dental for a dental exam at Corcoran State Prison, which he must request in order to receive any dental care. The dentist noted a cavity and the California Department of Corrections had up to one year to provide the procedure to correct the cavity, which is absurd and inadequate in my opinion. Sean recently received this form denying his dental procedure “due to COVID19”, despite the fact that Corcoran’s cases of COVID19 are very low (less than 6) and that Sean has tested negative for 3 times in a row. How is it acceptable for CDCR to deny the incarcerated population access to adequate routine medical and dental treatment for common necessary procedures when dentists offices on the outside are operating normally using temperature checks, masks, social distancing and PPE? This is sheer medical negligence, a small cavity left untreated can create a host of issues. I am floored that the Department of Corrections continues to deny visiting and uses COVID19 as an excuse to neglect their jobs the people in which they are paid to protect and care for. COVID19 has been around for over 7 months now and CDCR cannot simply ignore the medical needs of the incarcerated population indefinitely.

Sean’s most recent COVID19 test