Japanese Olympic athletes get vaccine shots as general public lags

Japanese Olympic Committee official Mitsugi Ogata said the vaccination of young athletes would not affect distribution to the general population, including the elderly and medical workers

Japan started vaccinating Tokyo Games-bound athletes on Tuesday, the Japanese Olympic Committee said. The vaccination of healthy athletes comes as only 2-3% of the general population in Japan has been fully vaccinated. Japanese Olympic Committee officials said about 200 athletes were vaccinated at a training center on the first day of the rollout. Japanese Olympic Committee officials did not name any of the athletes. They also restricted coverage of the event, possibly fearing a public backlash.