Who should be vaccinated against Covid-19 first? While in the main this question is a public health one, it has become a moral and political contentious issue, not just in South Africa but also in the rest of the world.
Ramaphosa endorsed this vaccine rollout strategy on 11 January and reiterated that prisoners would be included in phase two. It is their inclusion that has sparked an outcry, mainly from conservative and liberal sections of our society. South Africa’s prison facilities are notoriously overcrowded. The country has about 154 000 inmates and is rankedin terms of having the largest prison populations. The remand section for those awaiting trial, in particular, is a breeding ground for contagious diseases.
“Given the particular vulnerabilities to Covid of the incarcerated population, and the risks these in turn present to the [department’s] personnel we require to guard them, near-immediate vaccination of all prisoners is a well-grounded imperative in the interests of public health,” said Cameron. If prisons are not prioritised, it will have a grave impact on inmates and officials as their health and the institutions’ stability will be compromised, he added.
The International Bill of Rights and South Africa’s Constitution also affirm that incarcerated people do not lose most of their basic human rights, including the right to healthcare. Over the years, South African courts have reasoned that, for prisoners, access to healthcare through ordinary channels is severely limited. Inmates’ positions are further complicated by the conditions of their imprisonment.
They live in overpopulated space. Need some form of protection I guess, from the virus.
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