Video: UAE prison inmates get the Covid-19 vaccine for free

Dubai - The inmates expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the initiative.

The Ministry of Interior recently set up a centre within the Federal Punitive and Correctional Establishments, so inmates who wished to could receive the Covid-19 vaccine for free.

Colonel Khalid Ali Al Suwaidi, Director of the Federal Penal and Correctional Establishment in Abu Dhabi, said that the move came as part of the UAE's efforts to protect the health and safety of the entire community against the Covid-19 virus.

A video of the drive was released by the ministry on Thursday.‏

In it, inmates who took the jab spoke to the camera (although with their faces blurred out to protect their identities) and expressed their appreciation for the initiative that allowed them to join the rest of the nation in participating in the ongoing National Vaccination Programme.

Also read: UAE on track to vaccinate 50% population well before March deadline

The UAE has undertaken a goal of vaccinating 50 per cent of the population before the end of the first quarter.

"We would like to thank the Ministry of Interior and the Government of the UAE for giving us the opportunity to have the coronavirus vaccine. That's why we've come here today: to voluntarily take this vaccine," said one inmate.

Another said, "I willingly took the vaccine to protect myself and the people around me. I thank the leadership, thank you very much."