Dancehall heavy weight Vybz Kartel was among a group of prison inmates who on Friday (September 3) received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

He was one of thirty inmates who received the vaccine.

The incarcerated entertainer, who resides at the Horizon Adult Correctional Centre, had previously expressed through his lawyer, that he would be willing to take the vaccine.

Our Today understands that Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer was inoculated with the Oxford Astra Zeneca jab.

Despite the very powerful entertainer receiving the jab, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security Matthew Samuda said vaccine hesitancy remains high among the prison population.

Samuda said that 70 per cent of the inmates had indicated a hesitancy to be vaccinated.

In 2014, Kartel was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his associate Clive “Lizard” Williams. He will be eligible for parole once he has served a minimum of 35 years in prison.