Indonesia’s U-22 football team who will joining their country’s contingent at the Southeast Asian Games in November has received IPV or polio shot provided by PT Bio Farma.
This move comes after the Philippines declared a polio outbreak with confirmed cases of poliovirus type 2.
Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali and Indonesia Olympics Committee (KOI) chief Raja Okto Saptahari were present to witness the vaccination.
Bio Farma’s marketing said that anti-polio injections were recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)for individuals who will be going to polio-infected countries like the Philippines.
“We have to protect our athletes from the virus so they can compete to their maximum and return home safely,” an official said on Jakarta Post.
Bio Farma’s marketing and sales division head Tedi Hirawan said the serum would be distributed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, so it could be administered at any time before the contingent’s departure.
“We have made them ready at the airport’s health facilities,” the official added. TN
