The IOC wants vaccinated competitors and staff.
Pfizer, a developer of one of the available COVID-19 vaccines to combat the virus and the International Olympic Committee cut a deal which would enable willing athletes and staff from around the globe the ability to get the shots and participate in this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. The vaccine developer will donate doses to athletes and staff heading to Tokyo for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IOC has dictated that The Games Must Go On despite the pandemic and has hit resistance from Japanese political leaders and everyday citizens. Japan’s political and business leadership already has a white elephant on its hands, a once postponed Olympics that is costing billions upon billions of yen with taxpayers picking up a chunk of that tab. But the games must go on to salvage what can be used from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics wreckage.
The IOC will not force athletes or support staff to get vaccinated. The various National Olympic Committees will coordinate distribution with their local governments “in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations”. That could be a problem in countries that are struggling to get a vaccine whether it is Pfizer or some other developer. Why should Olympic athletes and staff get a vaccine ahead of the local population. Are Olympic athletes and staff members more important than average everyday people? But the IOC doesn’t care, they see money swirling down the drain and need vaccinated athletes to compete to save the event. The Chinese Olympic Committee wants to vaccinate Tokyo Olympic personnel with the IOC paying for the cost of each dose. A vaccine developed by China will be available only to Olympic personnel in the countries which have approved the Chinese vaccines. The jabs and games are coming.
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