(Reuters) – Canadian Olympic defensive champion Erica Wiebe has said that frontline and vulnerable people should be given priority over Olympic athletes for the modern coronavirus vaccine.
Olympic chief executive Dick Pound said Friday that athletes should be given a prime opportunity on the COVID-19 vaccine so that the Tokyo Games can go ahead as scheduled from July 23rd.
More than 15,000 athletes from almost every country in the world are expected to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics and Paralympics thereafter.
“I think the Olympic movement stands for doing a lot more than just putting athletes on stage to entertain the world,” Wiebe told CBC.
“The most important people who need to be vaccinated are frontline workers, those most at risk and people in long-term care homes – they are the ones who need to be prioritized.
Canadian gymnast Kyle Shewfelt, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games in the men’s floor exercise, echoed partner Wiebe’s comments that the vaccine is “liquid gold”.
“From a moral standpoint, it won’t sit right (with me),” Shewfelt said. “They (athletes) are already healthy, they are in an age group that has not been proven to be extremely vulnerable to fatal outcomes from this disease.
“As I want the Olympics to move forward … there is no doubt in my mind where (vaccines) need to go. The Olympics can move forward safely, whether or not athletes receive the vaccine. ”
Visiting Tokyo in November, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said that athletes would be encouraged to get vaccinated but that participation in the Games would not be compulsory. .
Concerns about whether the Olympics can be held in Tokyo have escalated in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases escalate in Japan and around the world.
Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Edited by Ken Ferris