"It is necessary to give vaccines to inmates. This is our effort to support the government's program to achieve the target of herd immunity," Head of Parigi Penitentiary Muhammad Askari Utomo said here on Tuesday.
Vaccination for prisoners is the realization of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights' instruction through the Directorate General of Social Institutions, he added.
Vaccinations carried out by the local Health Office do not have to be completed in a day because they are adjusted as per the ability of vaccinators, he informed. Even so, the 212 inmates taking part in the vaccination program have ID numbers (NIK), he said.
"There are 270 inmates at Parigi Prison, but not all of them can be vaccinated because some of them do not yet have an ID number. For that, we are coordinating with the local Population and Civil Registry Office," Utomo informed.
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In addition, he said, around 46 inmates currently cannot be vaccinated because they have just recovered from COVID-19, so they will need to wait for three months to receive the vaccine.
The prison will also try to ensure that inmates who do not get vaccinated at this stage receive the shots at a later stage so their immune response against the coronavirus can be boosted, he added
As an anticipatory measure, the prison authorities have currently closed visits from prisoners' families temporarily, case trials are also still being conducted online, and new prisoners are being made to undergo a rapid antigen test before entering the prison block, Utomo said.
"These are steps we are taking to prevent the transmission of the virus. We are not prohibiting family or relatives from visiting prisoners. However, for the time being, we are limiting visits. Of course, it is for everyone's safety," he added.
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Translator: Moh Ridwan, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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