Sarawak first state to vaccinate inmates

Sarawak has begun rolling out its Covid-19 vaccination programme for inmates, with the state prison director saying 741 had received a first dose of vaccine so far.

Mohamad Rosidek Musa told MalaysiaNow that the state government had administered 536 shots of Sinovac vaccine to inmates in the Sibu prison and 205 doses to those in the Bintulu prison.

The vaccine shots are being given to both locals and foreign inmates alike.

“We would like to express our gratitude to the Sarawak government for distributing the vaccines for inmates in Sarawak,” Rosidek said.

“Sarawak is the first state to roll out vaccinations for incarcerated people.”

He added that vaccinations are in the pipeline for the remaining 2,329 inmates at the four other prisons in the state.

He said it was necessary to vaccinate those in jails to ensure public safety.

“This vaccination programme will help reduce the risk for those in jail, and for inmates who will be released soon to provide protection for the community and help the state achieve herd immunity by August.”