THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) yesterday said only 6,215 or 4.81 percent of the 129,283 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) or inmates detained in its facilities are yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
BJMP spokesman Superintendent Xavier Solda said 119,175 or 92 percent of the PDLs are already fully or partially vaccinated.
In a radio interview, Solda said the bureau is coordinating with the Department of Health and local government units (LGUs) so the unvaccinated PDLs can be inoculated as soon as possible.
Solda said vaccine hesitancy is not the reason why the PDLs are yet to be vaccinated.
“We have to schedule the vaccination and coordinate it too with DOH (Department of Health) and the local health units since most of these PDLs are newly committed while few have medical concerns,” he said.
As to when they hope to vaccinate the unvaccinated PDLs, Solda said: “We are targeting the soonest time possible” as he expressed hope that vaccines will be made available for the inmates soon.
Meanwhile, Solda disclosed that 5,091 PDLs have been infected with the virus since 2020. Of the number, nine are still active cases, 54 have died while the rest have already recovered.
Solda said the 54 PDLs who perished from the disease are mostly elderlies or have co-morbidities.
