A syringe with Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. /CFP
The Japanese government is considering giving athletes attending the coming Tokyo Olympics priority for vaccination against COVID-19, Japan's Kyodo News reported.
The plan is to give the athletes both shots by late June so that they will have enough time to shake off any possible side effects before the Games begin on July 23. Japan started to provide vaccines to health care workers in mid-February, but the progress has been slow because of insufficient supply from Pfizer Inc. Vaccines will become available to those aged 65 after April 12 and then to people with underlying conditions like diabetes.
If athletes are put ahead of the elderly in the line, it will definitely draw criticism from the public.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga receives the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo, Japan, March 16, 2021. /CFP
Both Japan and the International Olympic Committee have stressed that no athlete is required to be vaccinated to participate in the Olympics. However, that does not keep countries from getting inoculation for the coronavirus for their athletes. For example, some European countries are already doing so. The U.S. also announced that it will vaccinate its athletes.
The fact that the pandemic continues to grow worse in Japan is not helping either. Osaka Prefecture announced a daily high of 878 cases on Wednesday before declaring a local medical emergency. The ongoing Olympic torch relay will be removed from public roads across Osaka to avoid further spreading of the virus.
Kyodo News said discussions with the Japanese Olympic and Paralympic committees have just begun, and nothing has been decided yet. The country's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga promised "safe and secure" Olympic and Paralympic events and thorough measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.