30 days. about two-thirds of adults in the u.s. have received at least one dose of a vaccine, but certain areas of the country are still fighting. one of the most shocking cases comes from the prison system in texas. 18 people have died from covid after being granted parole. nbc s priscilla thompson has the story. this is my son. reporter: oscar s mom was overjoyed when in february of 2020 he made parole after serving eight years in prison for a dwi. and i was so proud of him. i thought he was going to come home because he wrote a letter to me saying, i m coming home soon. reporter: seven months later he died from covid-19 while working to complete an alcohol education program. he was just shy of his 61st birthday. i knew he had to do the programs, but i didn t expect these programs to be six months or almost a full year. reporter: according to a new report by researchers at the
least one dose. on par with national numbers. much like in the outside world, the challenge now is hesitancy, fuelled by mistrust of the prison health system and misinformation. my girl, her aunt took the shot and she had a stroke and she passed. so reporter: denby declined the vaccine when offered. last month the texas legislature passed a bill that would allow some paroled inmates to complete release programs in the outside world under community supervision. for those nonviolent drug offenses and so forth, it is much more productive for them and for society and for the taxpayer and for everyone involved to be able to put in place this kin of unique programming. reporter: do you think that would have made a difference for oscar? absolutely. reporter: what is your message to the other families out there who are waiting for someone and worried? you should be worried because my brother, we were expecting him home. we were making holiday plans,