Canadian athletes and officials applauded Thursday’s news that Pfizer and BioNTech are donating COVID-19 doses to inoculate athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo Games.
The Olympics and Paralympics are happening, they said. They’ll be far safer for everyone if participants are vaccinated.
“Before the vaccine roll-out, I was quite worried from a global standpoint, the Olympics are bringing in thousands and thousands of people, and it looked like it was going to be a COVID petri dish,” said Erica Gavel, a member of Canada’s women’s wheelchair basketball team. ”Now it looks like things are moving in the right direction, to say the least.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee said it believes it will have access to donated vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech as part of an IOC initiative. Delivery of doses is set to begin this month to give Olympic delegations time to be fully vaccinated with a second shot before arriving in Tokyo for the Games, which open on July 23.
David Shoemaker, CEO and secretary general of the COC, says his organization will work with government agencies to confirm details of the roll-out.
“We were happy to learn from the IOC that Pfizer and BioNTech will donate vaccine doses for Tokyo 2020 Games participants. In Canada this represents approximately 1,100 people and will add an important layer of protection for Canadian athletes in the lead up to and during the Games,” Shoemaker said in a statement.
“The Olympic Games hold special meaning for the millions of Canadians who will be inspired by the resilience and determination of Canadian athletes this summer in Tokyo. As most provinces begin vaccination of the general population, this announcement will help more Canadians receive vaccinations quicker.”
The COC had steadfastly said Canadian athletes wouldn’t jump the vaccine cue.
“It’s fantastic news,” said Athletics Canada’s CEO David Bedford. ”Athletes are so thrilled to put Canada on their chest and represent all of us, that we owe them an obligation to try and keep them safe.”
It’s unknown how many Canadian athletes would benefit from this initiative. The COC’s chief medical officer, Dr. Mike Wilkinson, told The Canadian Press last week that with the pace of Canada’s vaccine roll-out, he expected the entire team to have received at least the first vaccine dose before Tokyo. Alberta, for example, is booking vaccines for people aged 12 and up starting Monday.
Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe tweeted a photo Thursday of her first dose appointment secured — independent of the IOC’s program.
“I was always confident Canadian athletes would be able to be vaccinated and not have to queue jump,” Wiebe said. “Hopeful to be fully vaccinated to relieved to have at least one dose in me prior to international travel.”
Other athletes have been able to access first doses elsewhere in Canada, while numerous Canadian athletes and coaches have been vaccinated while competing or training in the U.S.
Canada’s men’s field hockey captain Scott Tupper, who received his jab through work — he’s an assistant coach at Lafayette College in Easton, Penn. — said Thursday’s news was “great to hear.
“I think that anyone who believes in the Olympic Games and wants to see a successful event take place, agrees that vaccine access for competing athletes — Canadian and otherwise — is a positive step towards all nations coming together this summer in the safest way possible,” he said.
The IOC has said athletes do not have to be vaccinated for the Games. As of Thursday, 3.1 per cent of the Canadian population had been fully vaccinated.
The prospect of athletes jumping the queue is a hot-button topic in Canada, particularly while a third wave is ravaging parts of the country. The response on social media Thursday was overwhelmingly negative, with tweets about “privileged athletes” and “misplaced priorities.”
Race walker Evan Dunfee said it’s unfair to attack athletes, “like we had anything to do with this.”
“If people want to be mad they should be mad at the IOC and these mega-medical corporations. And no-one is getting outraged that the U.S. is vaccinating all their healthy people while people in India die,” said Dunfee, a world bronze medallist.