The Japanese Olympic Committee plans to start vaccinating Japanese athletes for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games on June 1 at the earliest, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
A schedule is being created so that everyone will have their first shot by the end of June. A vaccination venue is expected to be set up in Tokyo, sources said.
The JOC on Monday requested each sports organization to submit the number of people who want to be vaccinated, along with their individual schedules for June, by the end of this week, according to sources. The JOC also told the organizations to ask their own team doctors and medical staff to administer the vaccines, to lessen the impact on medical institutions amid the pandemic.
As the decision to be vaccinated is up to each athlete, some officials in charge are busy with preparations.
"We need to confirm what our athletes want to do as soon as possible," said an official of one of the organizations.
An official of another organization, which will select their Olympic and Paralympic athletes in June or later, said, "I wonder if [the athletes] will have enough time to receive both of their shots before the start of the Games [on July 23]."
On May 6, the International Olympic Committee announced it would donate doses of the vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and German maker BioNTech SE to all Games participants.
Tamayo Marukawa, the minister in charge of the Tokyo Games, has indicated that a total of about 2,500 people -- about 1,000 Japanese Olympians and Paralympians and 1,500 coaches and other relevant staff -- will be eligible for the planned vaccination.
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