The International Olympic Committee and Pfizer to donate vaccines to Olympic athletes

Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic officials in China announced their agreement to buy and distribute Chinese vaccines to athletes ahead of the Tokyo Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. This week, vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech have announced they will be donating doses to athletes and officials preparing for the Games to add an extra layer of safety to what many are calling a potential “super spreader event.”

This new deal with Pfizer will give the IOC greater worldwide coverage to have athletes vaccinated, since many countries have not yet authorized the Chinese vaccines for use. Doses will start being delivered this month in hopes that there will be enough time for athletes and officials to receive two doses before arriving in Tokyo. Vaccination will not be mandatory for anyone attending the Games, but IOC president Thomas Bach is encouraging all delegations to take part in the rollout.

“We are inviting the athletes and participating delegations of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games to lead by example and accept the vaccine where and when possible,” he said in a statement.

Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) CEO David Shoemaker has also voiced his approval of the decision, saying that this will provide an “important layer of protection for Canadian athletes in the lead up to and during the Games.” The Canadian Olympic team and its constituents are expected to make up approximately 1,100 people.

“The Olympic Games hold special meaning for the millions of Canadians who will be inspired by the resilience and determination of Canadian athletes this summer in Tokyo. As most provinces begin vaccination of the general population, this announcement will help more Canadians receive vaccinations quicker,” Shoemaker said.

Until now, the COC had maintained that Canadian athletes would not be jumping the queue in Canada’s vaccination rollout, but according to The Guardian, the IOC has made it clear that vaccines going to athletes and staff would not be taken from existing programs, but would “be in addition to existing quotas and planned deliveries around the world.”

With the vaccine rollout in Canada beginning to pick up steam, many Canadian athletes are already receiving their first doses without the Pfizer donation. In fact, the COC’s chief medical officer, Dr. Mike Wilkinson, has already told the Canadian Press he expects the entire team to have received at least their first dose before Tokyo.

Many people around the world have criticized the decision, arguing that vaccine donations should be sent to places like India, where COVID-19 infections have risen dramatically, but others have said that vaccinating athletes will prevent them from bringing the virus home to their communities.

“Anybody who says they should donate them to India or teachers, I get it, I would not argue with that. I understand, it’s very personal,” said Athletics Canada’s CEO David Bedford. “But I also believe that these athletes and the support staff are protected. And fortunately, the good news is that Pfizer and BioNTech have said this isn’t coming out of any allocations to countries.”

As the Games get closer, there is still a lot of opposition from the Japanese public, many of whom wish to have them cancelled. As of now, however, it seems that the Olympics will be going ahead, and having as many athletes as possible vaccinated may be the best way to ensure they can happen safely.

posted Friday May 7th
by Brittany Hambleton