Skip to main content

Israel starts vaccinating prisoners after delay

After Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit warned that keeping them lower in the queue was illegal, Public Security Minister Amir Ohana ordered the prison services to start vaccinating elderly inmates.
A syringe and vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are pictured at the Sheba Medical Center, Israel's largest hospital, in Ramat Gan near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, on January 14, 2021. - Israel's initial vaccination rollout appears to be unfolding successfully, with some two million citizens having received the first of two required injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, a pace widely described as the world's fastest per capita. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Image

The Israel Prisons Service said on Jan. 17 it will begin vaccinating all inmates this week, including Palestinians. A statement issued by the IPS said, “Following the vaccination of staff … the vaccination of detainees will begin in prisons in accordance with medical and operational protocols established by the Prison Service.” According to several publications yesterday, vaccination of prisoners aged 60 and older is rolling out.

The IPS announcement came three days after Health Minister Yuli Edelstein pledged to start vaccinating all prisoners the following week, including Palestinian security detainees. Edelstein stated, “We adhere to all of the priority committee’s guidelines,” explaining that the inmates will be vaccinated according to the national vaccination priorities set by his ministry: starting with the elderly and vulnerable.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.