Tokyo Olympics: Japanese athletes get COVID-19 vaccination as general public lags

Japanese Olympic Committee officials did not name any of the athletes. They also restricted coverage of the event, possibly fearing a public backlash.

Japan started vaccinating Tokyo Games-bound athletes for COVID-19 on Tuesday (June 1), the Japanese Olympic Committee said. The vaccination of healthy athletes comes as only 2-3 per cent 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. 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.