UK Justice Minister Says Prisoners Not Getting Priority COVID-19 Vaccinations

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2021) UK Justice Minister Robert Buckland said on Tuesday that prison inmates in the United Kingdom "should not ahead of the queue" to get COVID-19 vaccine and will have to wait for their turn on the priority list set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

"The important point here is that prisoners will not get priority ahead of any other part of the community," Buckland told Sky news broadcaster, adding that a number of inmates have already been vaccinated because they fall into the most vulnerable category.

The Justice secretary said, however, that "his particular priority" is that prison staff get inoculated "as soon as possible."

The UK Department of Health and Social Care announced on Monday that more than 22 million people -around one third of the 66 million UK population - have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that every adult in the UK should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July.