Task Force: West Papua One Of The Priorities For Covid-19 Vaccination

JAKARTA - West Papua is one of the provinces in Indonesia that has become a priority for the government in implementing the COVID-19 Vaccination Program.

Chairman of the West Papua COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Derek Ampnir in Manokwari, Thursday, said there were 10 provinces in Indonesia that were prioritized for the first phase of vaccination. West Papua is included in the list.

"One of the indicators is the high level of vulnerability to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. West Papua falls into that category," Derek said as quoted by Antara, Thursday, December 31.

Apart from West Papua, the 9 provinces that are part of the priority list are DKI Jakarta, Aceh, North Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Papua.

He explained that the COVID-19 vaccination carried out by the central government has prioritized a number of vulnerable groups such as medical personnel, teaching staff as well as the TNI and Polri.

Derek does not know when the vaccinations will be carried out. Currently, the vaccine dose has not been distributed to West Papua.

According to him, the West Papua Government is ready to support the budget for the program, so that the rate of transmission of COVID-19 in this province can be reduced.

"The budget is of course very important to support this program. It will be prepared through the APBD according to regional capabilities," he said.

According to data from the Task Force on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, the number of people exposed to COVID-19 in West Papua was recorded at 5,946 people. Of that number, 5,414 of them have recovered successfully, 99 have died and 433 are still being treated.

"The death rate in West Papua is 1.7 percent. It is quite low compared to other regions, we must be grateful," said Derek.

He also invited residents and all stakeholders to continue to be vigilant by implementing health protocols to avoid transmission of COVID-19.