IOC Urging For Vaccines For Athletes Prior To Olympics

International Olympic Committee is hoping that athletes from around the globe will be high up on the vaccination list, once key workers and the vulnerable are given the jab to avoid postponement of the games.

As reported by The Guardian, many sources in the Olympic movement have also indicated that they remain confident the Games will take place in some form this summer. However the rise of several new coronavirus variants and the steep jump in cases in Japan – which reported a record 5,307 daily cases on Wednesday – has posed as a worry and organisations now want athletes to be vaccinated asap.

“Together with the National Olympic Committees, we will make all the efforts so that the NOCs encourage and assist their athletes, their officials and their stakeholders to get vaccinated before they come to Japan,” the IOC said.

“We are doing so, of course, in order to contribute even more to the safe environment in the Games, but also out of respect for the Japanese people because they should be confident that everything is being done to not only protect the participants, but also the Japanese people, by having as many of the visitors as possible being vaccinated.”