Will Japan require vaccination for the 2021 Summer Olympics? (Image via Boston Globe)

Japan vows to vaccinate its Olympic athletes

The Japanese Government sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to support its effort to arrange a vaccination program for athletes participating in the postponed Summer Olympics. The news was confirmed by sources close to the matter on Wednesday.

Under the name of the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, the letter was sent to the GAVI COVAX facility, a public-private global vaccine alliance in Geneva, in November. It was before the British Government passed its first vaccine. Furthermore, Japan supports IOC's objective to vaccinate its athletes and officials, especially from the developing nations.

Previously, on 16 November, the President of IOC, Thomas Bach, stated that he wanted participants to get vaccinated as many as possible for the 2021 Summer Olympics. During a meeting with Suga, both Bach and the PM agreed to work together to prevent another COVID-19 outbreak and ensure safety at the postponed Summer Olympics.

Reportedly, IOC is keeping in touch with other organizations to procure vaccines. One of which is GAVI, working together with the World Health Organization (WHO) among others on the COVAX project to provide vaccines for developing nations. Japan is one of the generous donators.

Moreover, Bach added that the IOC would be responsible for the cost of the vaccination program for the athletes and officials for the Tokyo Olympics, beginning on 23 July 2021. On Friday last week, Tokyo's Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee revealed that the postponement to 2021 would cost some extra 294 billion yen, including 96 billion yen for COVID-19 countermeasures.

Previously, both the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Olympics' organizing committee asserted that no vaccination would be mandatory for the Olympics' participants. However, the stance changed last Wednesday as they decided to begin discussions on whether the vaccine should be available or not.

Source: https://bit.ly/37TWe48