Rwanda Begins Vaccinating Inmates Against COVID-19

The Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) and Rwanda Correctional Services on Tuesday began inoculating elderly inmates and those with underlying diseases against COVID-19.

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The vaccination started at Nyarugenge prison in the capital city of Kigali, where 2,077 inmates are set to be inoculated. Authorities plan to extend the vaccination to all inmates aged 60 and above and those with underlying health conditions in prisons across the country.

About 12,000 inmates are expected to be inoculated in the coming days, Commissioner General of Rwanda Correctional Services George Rwigamba said, adding that the vaccination for inmates was a welcome move as ensuring social distancing measures in prisons is a challenge.

The RBC also announced that vaccination among commercial motorcyclists and cyclists, as well as local security guards in Kigali has started.

Rwanda Last Friday launched countrywide inoculation against COVID-19 of priority groups, including health personnel, frontline workers, and those older than 65 years or with underlying health conditions, after receiving AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility.

It later extended elderly people eligible for inoculation to those older than 60-year-old as more vaccines become available. Over 200,000 people regarded as a priority have been vaccinated.

As of Wednesday morning, Rwanda had reported 19,779 COVID-19 cases and 270 related deaths.