Prioritise athletes for vaccine so Tokyo Games can go ahead: IOC member
January 8, 2021 — 3.08pm
Tokyo: Athletes should be prioritised for the novel coronavirus vaccine so the beleaguered Tokyo Games can go ahead later this year, according to senior Olympics official Dick Pound.
Canadian Pound, the longest-serving member of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), told Sky News in the UK that the Games could still go ahead with mass athlete participation, but only if they were vaccinated.
The Australian Olympic Committee repeated on Friday its stated position from last year that athletes shouldn't be prioritised ahead of the elderly, the vulnerable, health workers and other essential workers.
"The IOC has indicated that vaccination will not be compulsory for Tokyo but it is encouraging all to do so for the sake of fellow athletes and our Japanese hosts," the AOC said yesterday.
"The AOC has been working with athletes, sports and our Tokyo medical team on delivering our team safely into Tokyo (and qualifying events) between now and July 23rd."
Pound said Olympians would take up a tiny number of vaccines in each nation.
"In Canada where we might have 300 or 400 athletes - to take 300 or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada represented at an international event of this stature, character and level - I don't think there would be any kind of a public outcry about that," Pound told Sky News.
"It's a decision for each country to make and there will be people saying they are jumping the queue but I think that is the most realistic way of it going ahead."
During his visit to Tokyo in November, IOC president Thomas Bach said athletes would be encouraged to get the vaccine but it would not be mandatory for their participation in the Games.
Separately, Pound told the BBC the ever-changing nature of the coronavirus pandemic meant nobody could be sure whether the Games would go ahead in less than 200 days.
"I can't be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus," Pound said, according to the BBC.
Over 15,000 athletes from almost every country in the world are expected to descend on Tokyo for the Olympics, which start on July 23, and the subsequent Paralympics.
Fears over whether the Games can be held in Tokyo have increased in the last few weeks as COVID-19 cases surge in Japan and around the world.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated on Thursday his intention to hold the Games, even as he declared a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding prefectures.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver sent an email to all teams in late December stating they could not ''jump the line'' and get vaccines for their players and staff ahead of those prioritised as needing it first.
The league will allow those players and coaches with medical conditions or advanced age to be vaccinated early if they are entitled to it.
Reuters with Roy Ward