IOC urges Olympic teams to ask for more vaccines
CTV
Olympic teams were urged by the IOC to request more Chinese and Pfizer vaccines ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, which will be held in the country where the coronavirus outbreak started.
The International Olympic Committee first announced a vaccine rollout program with Chinese authorities for athletes and officials in March. Chinese vaccines were bought by the IOC and also made available for delegations heading to the Tokyo Olympics from countries which had approved them for use.
In May, vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech donated doses of their product to Tokyo Olympic teams. That scheme and potentially others could be added for Beijing, the IOC said Friday.
About 100 countries are likely to compete at the Beijing Olympics, which open Feb. 4. There were 205 national teams in Tokyo. Vaccination is encouraged but not mandatory.
"I would like to encourage those National Olympic Committees who require additional vaccine doses … to inform our NOC relations department as soon as possible so that we can put the necessary arrangements in place," IOC president Thomas Bach said Friday in a letter to Olympic teams.
