President Jokowi Inspects COVID-19 Vaccination in Sorong City, West Papua

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inspects mass COVID-19 vaccination at the Special Raider Battalion 762/VYS Building, East Sorong district, Sorong city, West Papua, Monday (04/10). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Kris)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Monday (04/10) inspected the COVID-19 vaccination for students, general public, and the elderly held at the Special Raider Battalion 762/VYS Building, East Sorong district, Sorong city, West Papua province.

On that occasion, the President expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm shown by the people of West Papua when participating in the COVID-19 vaccination.

“I really appreciate the great enthusiasm of the public to participate in this mass vaccination drive to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially the Delta variant in West Papua province and in Indonesia,” the President said.

The President went on to say that the vaccination was an effort to speed up vaccination progress in West Papua.

The mass vaccination was also held simultaneously in nine other regencies in West Papua province, including Teluk Bintuni regency, Sorong regency, Fakfak regency, Manokwari regency, Raja Ampat regency, South Manokwari regency, South Sorong regency, Wondama regency, and Kaimana regency.

During a dialogue with the President via video conference, a representative from Fakfak regency reported that the vaccination was targeting 200 participants. There were three vaccination centers, namely the KONI Fakfak Building, the Immanuel Church Hall in Central Fakfak, and the Pariwari District Office Hall. It was also reported that the stock of vaccines available in Fakfak regency was still sufficient for the vaccination amounted to 5,440 doses.

“OK, good. Those vaccines should be used immediately. There is no vaccine stock, they should be injected into the public immediately. The sooner the better,” the President said in response to the report.

Meanwhile, a representative from Manokwari regency said that the vaccination in the region was carried out at three sites with a target of 600 participants.

“For Manokwari, we target 600 participants at three sites. The first site is located at the GKI Ebenhaezer Church, Fanindi, Manokwari; the second site is located at the Bhayangkara Police Hospital of West Papua; and the third site is located in the Prafi area, Manokwari,” said a representative from Manokwari.

Concluding the dialogue, the Head of State also expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the regional government and traditional figures in West Papua for persuading the public to participate in the national vaccination drive.

“Once again, I’d like to thank the regional government, religious leaders, traditional figures, and public figures who have invited the public, students, and university students to participate in mass vaccination drive,” the President remarked. (TGH/UN) (RIF/LW)