(ATR) Qatar and Rwanda have already started vaccinating athletes from Asia and Africa with Pfizer/BioNTech doses to increase the percentage of immunized delegations to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"The two hubs will both offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, in line with the IOC announcement on 6 May 2021 of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to donate doses of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine to Games participants from National Olympic and Paralympic Committees around the world", the IOC (International Olympic Committee) announced.
"We cannot thank enough the two NOCs, their national governments and Pfizer for their generosity and great show of willingness and support. The progress in preparation of work on the ground has been outstanding, and these additional vaccination opportunities are enabling the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to be safe and secure not only for the participants, but also for the Japanese people", said James Macleod, IOC NOC Relations and Olympic Solidarity Director.
The IOC's action runs in parallel with a similar one being undertaken by Panam Sports, the governing body of sports in the Americas, which since the end of May has been vaccinating its athletes at hubs in Miami and Houston. Panam Sports is also covering the cost of air tickets, in an operation that especially benefits the smaller countries in the region, where vaccination against Covid-19 is slow and scarce.
The Tokyo Games, originally due to be held in 2020, face significant opposition from the Japanese public in a country where the vaccination process is moving very slowly. The IOC has already intimated that it sees no reason today to suspend the Games, which it aims to hold "safely" between July 23 and August 8. The Paralympics are scheduled from August 24 to September 5.
The IOC has said that 75 percent of those who will be inside the Olympic Village are "already vaccinated or have secured vaccination". There is also a "good reason to believe" that this figure will be "well over 80 percent" at the time of the Games, the IOC added.
Written by Sebastian Fest
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