Inmates included in vaccination program

MANILA, Philippines — Inmates under the supervision of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) across the country are included in the three-day national vaccination dubbed “Bayanihan Bakunahan,” which starts tday until Dec. 1, the Department of Justice said yesterday.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he received confirmation from National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. that the inmates in seven penal colonies run by the BuCor would benefit from the inoculation program.

Guevarra said most of the elderly inmates have comorbidities, making them eligible for the vaccination drive.

Based on BuCor data as of Nov. 19, a total of 35,111 or 72.25 percent of 48,598 inmates nationwide have been inoculated. Of the number, only 9,845 inmates are fully vaccinated while 25,266 have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccines.

The local governments where the penal farms are located provided the vaccines for the inmates.

The New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, which is the country’s most congested penal facility, reported that only 1,382 of the total 28,516 inmates have been fully vaccinated and 20,752 have received their first dose, for a vaccination rate of 77.62 percent.

Lagging behind in the vaccination program are the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro and the Leyte regional prison, which posted a vaccination rate of 25.14 percent and 38 percent, respectively.