Vaccination of Labuan correctional centre inmates has begun

LABUAN: Vaccination against Covid-19 has begun for 180 inmates of the Labuan Correctional Centre, Labuan Health Department director Dr Ismuni Bohari said on Monday.

He said some inmates of the total 200 at the centre would be exempted from the vaccination, which began yesterday, as they still showed mild symptoms of the disease following the outbreak of the Tembok Labuan cluster that affected 194 people.

“They have been placed under surveillance,” he told Bernama.

The vaccination exercise is an effort to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 infection among the inmates and detainees as well as staff, he said.

Labuan Correctional Centre director Abd Rauf Lang Pasih said the vaccination exercise involved 90 per cent of the total 200 inmates.

“Those who do not receive the vaccine today will get it at a later date,” he said.

Abd Rauf said all the 119 correctional centre staff have received their second dose of the vaccine and efforts are being made to get the unvaccinated family members of the staff to get their shots soon.

The delay of the vaccination exercise at the centre was due to the emergence of the Tembok Labuan cluster and the imposition of the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) which was lifted only recently.