Medical Coordinator of the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) of Papua Province dr. Billy Heumese admitted that a number of Papuan athletes were forced to not be vaccinated from COVID-19 because they have comorbid or are still in treatment.
Nevertheless, KONI Papua continues to coordinate with specialists to conduct additional examinations, considering the issue of vaccination to be one of the requirements to be able to compete in the National Sports Week (PON) XX next October.
This was conveyed by Billy to the press, on one occasion, in Jayapura.
According to him, KONI Papua has now completed the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination for athletes who will participate in National Sports Week XX.
As for the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination for athletes are still in the process at the training centers (TC) respectively.
As for the number of athletes who have been vaccinated in the first stage, he said, while in the process of extracting data.
Nevertheless, according to the initial plan to be vaccinated a total of 500 people, ranging from athletes, officials, coaches and administrators.
Previously, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe urged that the vaccination process be immediately launched in four clusters of National Sports Week implementation.
Not only athletes, all parties involved in the implementation of National Sports Week XX Papua, must be fully vaccinated.
"This is to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in Papua and even Indonesia, which is currently increasingly significant," he said.