Gov't urged to include inmates on COVID-19 vaccination priority list

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has urged the government to include persons deprived of liberty in the priority list for the vaccination program against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In Vonne Aquino’s report on “State of the Nation,” CHR spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline Ann De Guia said that prisons may be COVID-19 hotspots due to the lack of space.

“They are in cramped detention facilities. Napaka-impossible ng physical distancing. Pangalawa, napakataas ng risk of COVID transmission dahil marami sa kanila ay may mga comorbidities,” Guia said.

[They are in cramped detention facilities. It’s impossible to do physical distancing. Second, the risk of transmission is high because many of them have comorbidities.]

“[L]ast year nakita natin na one of the hot zones ng COVID ay ‘yung mga places of detention. Malaki ‘yung impact nito sa public because ‘yung mga jail custodian natin ay may mga inuuwian,” she added.

[Last year, we saw that one of the hot zones of COVID is places of detention. It has a big impact on the public because our jail custodians also have places to go home to.]

Kapatid, a group of families of political prisoners, have also expressed the same wish to the Department of Health (DOH)

“Sinabi kasi namin no na hindi puwedeng kaligtaan doon sa national efforts para sugpuin ang COVID-19 or i-control. That this will result in failure if the government will ignore the health of prisons,” Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said.

[We said that the government should not dismiss it in the national efforts to destroy or control COVID-19. That this will result in failure if the government will ignore the health of prisons.]

Lim said this was because the health of prisoners is linked to the health of the community around it.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that though it is unlikely, the Department of Justice said it will ensure that they will also be vaccinated.

“While the inclusion of PDLs in the priority groups does not appear to be very likely, the DOJ will nonetheless ensure that they will also be vaccinated like everyone else,” Guevarra said.

However, Lim said Guevarra’s remark surprised them.

“The provision of healthcare for prisoners is a state responsibility. Prisoners should enjoy the same standard of healthcare that are available in the community and should have access to necessary healthcare services free of discrimination on the grounds of their legal status,” she said. —NB, GMA News