ILOILO City – A total of 1,164 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Iloilo District Jail (IDJ) in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo and fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) availed themselves of booster shots yesterday.
The boosting was carried out by vaccinators from the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6.
Nine personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) also got booster shots, according to Jail Chief Inspector Jairus Anthony Dogelio, BJMP Region 6 spokesperson.
The PDLs were from the IDJ’s male and female dormitories and the BJMP Panay Isolation Facility.
The booster shots would further strengthen the inmates’ immunity against COVID-19, and therefore make the IDJ safer, said Dogelio.
The boosting was also in line with BJMP’s plan to resume “non-contact” jail visitations should Western Visayas’ pandemic Alert Level 3 is downgraded.
“Ang iban nga jail facilities naga-coordinate man sa ila respective LGUs (local government units) for them to get booster shots. Sa wala, that would be the focus sang aton regional office in collaboration with DOH,” said Dogelio.
Region-wide, Dogelio added, “almost 99 percent” of PDLs and BJMP personnel have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
There is no vaccine hesitancy among PDLs, he stressed.
“Continuing ang aton education campaign with regards sa aton vaccination. PDLs are willing to submit themselves to vaccination and booster shots,” said Dogelio.
While there were COVID-19 infections among PDLs mostly in Negros Occidental, he added, these were managed well and the infected eventually recovered.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.
Most people (about 80 percent) recover from the disease without needing special treatment, according to the World Health Organization.
Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth./PN
