Hakan Hayrettin says the vast majority of Maidstone players have been vaccinated against Covid.

The vaccination status of footballers has made headlines over the past few days, as Covid cases in the UK soar amid the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The Football League announced 25 per cent of their players did not intend to get vaccinated, while the Premier League revealed 16 per cent of players are unvaccinated.

A number of non-league fixtures were called off over the weekend, including Maidstone’s FA Trophy match at Maidenhead, with the hosts forfeiting the tie due to Covid cases.

The Stones continue to carry out weekly testing, with boss Hayrettin confirming positive results for regulars Regan Booty and Roarie Deacon.

Hayrettin, who had his booster jab on Monday, has long encouraged his squad to take up the vaccine but accepts it’s a matter of personal choice.

“We’ve still got a few who haven’t been vaccinated but I think we’re 90 per cent there,” he said.

“I’ve always tried to endorse it, I’m of the opinion that people should get it done but you can’t force people to have it if they don’t want to. It’s personal choice.”

The Premier League and Football League have confirmed their intention to play on and Hayrettin believes the National League should follow suit.

“I just think we’ve got to continue,” he said. “We can’t let it stop us again, it’s ridiculous. We need to continue.

“Look at the numbers, people are going to pick it up but the club is very strict and disciplined in the way it does things and we test religiously.”