Sports Ministry urges Health Ministry to consider Olympic athletes on priority for vaccine

With the possibility of Tokyo Olympics 2021 being held as per plan, Union Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports on Thursday wrote to the Ministry of Health urging for priority vaccination for Olympic-bound athletes. This comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) planned to commence the Summer Games from July 23 this year. 

"We have requested the Health Ministry to put athletes on priority. As of now, we are awaiting their reply. Once they respond, we will start the execution. There is still time for the Olympics and we are hopeful that we will be able to do it. We are having discussions with all concerned departments regarding this and we are working on it," a source in the Sports Ministry told news agency ANI.

Read: Tokyo Olympics Head 'remorseful' Over Comments

Read: Japan Extends State Of Emergency In Tokyo And 9 Other Cities Amid COVID-19 Crisis

IOA considers priority vaccination of athletes 

In January, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra had stated that the vaccination of Olympic-bound athletes was their 'topmost priority.' "We are having discussions with all concerned departments including Health Ministry, Sports Ministry, and NADA. We are very much on track and we hope very soon will come up with a proper plan for it," he had said. 

This was also confirmed by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju who asserted that Olympic-bound athletes would be given priority for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Even with nearly 80% of Japanese urging for the games to be postponed or cancelled in the midst of a pandemic, the IOC has scheduled the Tokyo Olympics is from July 23 to August 8, 2021. Meanwhile, the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5, 2021. 

Currently, Japan has extended the state of emergency in Tokyo and 9 other cities, due to a surge in Coronavirus cases. The announcement by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on February 2, also comes amid the growing uncertainty regarding the rollout of vaccines in the country.

Read: Tokyo 2020 Olympics President Yoshiro Mori 'to Step Down Over Sexist Remarks'

Read: Bill Gates Believes Tokyo Olympics 'still Possible', Says Fate Depends On Vaccine Roll-out

(With Agency Inputs)