The International Olympic Committee said Thursday that it had struck deals with two companies for coronavirus vaccine doses that will allow a significant proportion of athletes and officials traveling to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer the opportunity to be vaccinated before they arrive in Japan.
The committee announced the agreements with the companies, Pfizer and BioNTech, to distribute donated doses of the vaccine to Games participants in their home countries, where they would be administered by local officials and through domestic vaccination programs.
The effort is the latest attempt by Olympic officials and Japanese organizers to assuage the concerns of a skeptical Japanese public, which has consistently told pollsters that it does not want the Games to take place during the pandemic. Only about 1 per cent of the Japanese public is currently fully vaccinated, and several areas, including Tokyo, are under restrictions that have shuttered restaurants, bars, and nonessential businesses.
“The more athletes who are vaccinated at the Games, the safer it’s going to be for athletes, officials, the Japanese community and also our respective communities when we come back home,” said Rosie MacLennan, a Canadian trampolinist who won gold medals at the previous two Summer Olympics. “I felt a fair bit of relief when I read the news.”
Despite the new program, and an earlier announcement that the IOC would buy doses of a Chinese vaccine and distribute them, there is still no requirement that athletes, coaches, officials or others attending the Games must be vaccinated before coming to Japan.
In fact, organizers have indicated that the Games will proceed as if vaccines have not been made available to athletes, focusing instead on countermeasures like testing, masks and so-called "bubbles" in an attempt to create a safe environment for competition. Vaccinated athletes will enjoy no special privileges, the IOC has said.
Still, with more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries — all at different stages of their national vaccination campaigns — expected to travel to Tokyo in July and August for the Games, officials have acknowledged that widespread vaccination among its athletes would be one of the most effective ways to prevent the Olympics from becoming a superspreader event.
The IOC’s news release pointedly said that the vaccination plan was developed “not only to contribute to the safe environment of the Games, but also out of respect for the residents of Japan.”
A statement from Thomas Bach, the IOC president, reinforced the expression of concern.
“This donation of the vaccine is another tool in our toolbox of measures to help make the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 safe and secure for all participants, and to show solidarity with our gracious Japanese hosts,” the statement said.
In March, China had agreed to provide vaccines for Olympic participants. But China’s vaccines are still not approved in many countries, and several — including Japan — said they would not accept the offer.
Bach acknowledged that accepting the vaccine would still be voluntary, even as he urged competitors to take part. “We are inviting the athletes and participating delegations of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games to lead by example and accept the vaccine where and when possible,” he said.
Jonathan Finnoff, chief medical officer for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said the vaccine donation agreement could have a significant effect worldwide, particularly for athletes in countries where vaccination campaigns have barely gotten off the ground.
“While the vaccines are available here in the US, around the world they aren’t,” he said, “and many, many teams have no access to vaccines.”
Aside from issues of access, Olympic and national officials are also working on education campaigns for athletes who might hesitate to be vaccinated.
In this regard, Finnoff said, the US athletes are comparable to the general population.
On one hand, he said, there are those who take the virus seriously and want to get the vaccine. “And then there other people who don’t believe that the virus exists and that it’s a global conspiracy and that the vaccine is a tracking device,” he said.
He added, “We’re doing our best to bring in medical experts to provide scientifically based information to our athletes so they can make an educated decision about what’s right for them.”
Finnoff said it was difficult to assess vaccination numbers among US athletes because the USOPC considers each individual’s medical information confidential. But he said that, anecdotally, he knew many athletes who were getting vaccinated.
Before Thursday’s announcement, the International Paralympic Committee had estimated that roughly 60 per cent of national Paralympic squads would be vaccinated in time for the Games, according to Andrew Parsons, the organization’s president. Parsons said in a statement Thursday that the donations could help improve that figure.
Tension has lingered around the question of whether Olympians and professional athletes should be prioritized while so many communities around the world remain in dire need of vaccinations.
MacLennan, who has not been vaccinated because she is not yet eligible in Ontario, where she lives, said she understood why people objected to athletes’ getting preferential access to vaccines.
“My view is strictly from an Olympic and athletic perspective,” said MacLennan, who was recently named chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission, “but if the Games are definitely going forward, then this is a step toward creating a safer environment.”
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