There Is A Request From The IOC, Priority For Tokyo Olympic Athletes To Get COVID-19 Vaccines

JAKARTA - Senior official from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Dick Pound believes that athletes should be prioritized for getting the COVID-19 vaccine so that they can participate in the Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed by one year.

The longtime Canadian member of the IOC said the Olympics could still continue with the participation of mass athletes, but only if they were vaccinated, he told local British media.

"In Canada, where we might have 300 or 400 athletes, it would be like to take several hundred of the millions of vaccines available to represent a country at an event of this size. I don't think there will be any public outcry about that," Pound said.

"This is a decision every country has to make and there will be people saying that athletes are jumping the line, but I think that's the most realistic way to go about it," he continued.

During his visit to Tokyo in November, IOC President Thomas Bach said athletes would be encouraged to get vaccines but not required to participate in the Olympics.

Separately, Pound told the BBC that the ever-changing nature of the coronavirus pandemic means no one can say for sure whether the Olympics will take place in less than 200 days.

"I can't be sure because the main glaring problem is the spike in the virus," Pound said.

More than 15,000 athletes from almost every country in the world are expected to attend Tokyo for the Olympics starting on July 23, and the next Paralympics.

Concern over whether the Olympics could be held in Tokyo has risen in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases increase in Japan and around the world.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday reiterated his intention to hold the Olympics, even as he declared a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding prefectures.