590 inmates get Covid-19 vaccines

Malawi Red Cross Society Mzimba North district coordinator Innocent Chikuni says they have reached out to 590 inmates at Mzuzu Prison with Covid-19 vaccine.

Malawi Red Cross Society is also conducting a door-to-door campaign to help the Ministry of Health vaccinate 70 percent of the country’s population by December this year.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday on the success of the campaign at Mzuzu Prison, Chikuni said Malawi Red Cross launched the 15-month campaign to vaccinate about 13 million Malawians at the end of the project in November 2023 with financial support from Africa Centre for Disease Control in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

He said: “We received positive response from inmates at Mzuzu Prison as you know that prisons are part of the places that Covid-19 can easily spread.

“It is good that most inmates turned up for the vaccination exercise. It is important that we reach out to many vulnerable people and groups who cannot go to health facilities to get the jabs.”

Mzuzu Prison spokesperson McDonald Wasambo said one of the preventive measures for the disease is social distance, which is not possible in prison because of congestion.

“Therefore, the best preventive measure is for officers and inmates to get vaccinated.

“We commend Malawi Red Cross Society for conducting the vaccination exercise at the facility,” he said.

Mzuzu Prison has 1 029 inmates against the recommended capacity of 329.