The Delhi Prisons Department has set up a Covid-19 vaccination centre inside Tihar Jail to inoculate all eligible inmates, PTI reported quoting officials on Sunday.
A total of 326 inmates in Delhi’s prisons are above 60 years of age and over 300 are in the 45-59 age bracket with comorbidities. These two categories are eligible for vaccination in the second phase of the ongoing nationwide drive.
The vaccination centre was set up on Tuesday in the central jail hospital at jail number 3.
According to jail officials, around 70 to 80 inmates of Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli jails have been vaccinated so far.
Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said, if needed, a vaccination centre will be opened at Mandoli Jail too.
"Our teams from the central jail hospital in jail number 3 will visit the inmates at Rohini and Mandoli Jails to vaccinate them starting next week. If needed, a vaccination centre will also be opened at Mandoli Jail," Goel said.
Earlier, Tihar Jail inmates were taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for the vaccination.
The vaccination drive for prison inmates started on 18 March and 13 inmates got the Covid-19 jab on day one.
According to a senior jail official, family members of the inmates were asked to send the required documents through WhatsApp messaging app.
"We spoke to the families of the inmates, asked them to send the documents required for the registration through WhatsApp and then vaccinated them," a senior jail official said.
None of the inmates who have received the jab reported any complications, the official said.
However, there are several inmates who do not have the required documents for the vaccination process.
"Due to which they were not selected for the shot. We are trying to figure out how they will be vaccinated," an official said.
Vaccinations in India
The country has so far administered 6,02,69,782 anti-Covid jabs, crossing the six-crore milestone.
The five-crore mark in vaccination was crossed on 23 March.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16 January with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of the frontline workers started from 2 February.
The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced on 1 March for those who are above 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.
With inputs from agencies.
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