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The Tokyo Olympics, postponed because of the
novel coronavirus pandemic, were the first Games outside wartime
to be cancelled but have been rescheduled for July 23 to Aug. 8.
Due to the delay the Beijing Games will now start just over six
months after Tokyo.
"The IOC has received a kind offer from the Chinese Olympic
Committee, hosts of the 2022 Beijing winter Olympics, to make
additional vaccine doses available to participants in both
editions of the Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022," IOC
President Thomas Bach told the Olympic body's virtual session.
He was addressing an on-line presentation by new Tokyo Olympics
chief Seiko Hashimoto, her first presentation to the IOC since
taking over three weeks ago.
"The Chinese Olympic Committee is ready in cooperation with the
IOC to make these additional doses available... either via
collaboration with international partners or directly in
countries were agreements regarding Chinese vaccines are in
place," Bach said.
The Tokyo Games will be held amid tight health measures and the
likely absence of international visitors while the IOC has urged
national Olympic committees to vaccinate athletes.
"The IOC will pay for the additional doses of vaccines not only
for Olympic but also Paralympic teams," Bach said.
"For each of these doses the IOC will pay for two doses more
which can be made available to the population in the respective
countries."
Most Japanese people do not want international visitors to
attend the Tokyo Games amid fears that a large influx could
spark a resurgence of coronavirus infections, a Yomiuri
newspaper poll showed recently.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ken
Ferris)
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