The ‘2021 National Team Training Initiation Ceremony’ is being held on the 18th at Jincheon National Athletes’ Village, Chungbuk on the 18th, announcing the start of official training for national players preparing for the Tokyo Summer Olympics this year, the Beijing Winter Olympics next year, and the Hangzhou Asian Games. Provided by Korean Sports Association
It has been confirmed that the sports community and the government are in discussions on a plan to have the Korean athletes participating in the July Tokyo Olympics receive a vaccine for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) in May. As dispatching the Olympics is an act of exposure to Corona 19 infection, the idea is to ensure that the elderly are vaccinated together after the medical staff, who are currently vaccination priorities.
According to the sports community on the 3rd, the Korean Sports Association suggested to the government earlier this year that the vaccinations of national athletes can begin as soon as vaccinations for medical staff in progress are made. The government also showed a positive response, and the Sports Association plans to collect the vaccination targets for each sport and submit it to the quarantine authorities.
There are 157 athletes (as of the end of 2020) who have secured the right to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, and the number of athletes is expected to increase to 350 after completing the preliminary rounds for each sport.
But this is not the only vaccine recipient. It is estimated that the number of vaccinations related to the Tokyo Olympics will increase rapidly to 1,000, as it is a policy to inoculate athletes participating in the qualifying competitions held abroad first, and to include national partners, leaders, sports club officers, journalists, etc. .
Vaccination against Corona 19 is a recommendation that is not mandatory for athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics, but the Japanese government is recommending national athletes to get the vaccine and come to Japan to prevent the spread of Corona 19.
The athletic meet insists that the first vaccination should be completed in May and the second vaccination should be completed before June, considering that the Tokyo Olympics will start on July 23. An official from the sports association said, “Consultations are underway to give sequential vaccinations for each sport,” he said. “In order not to interfere with the performance, you will have to get the vaccine until June, at least one month before the competition.”
In addition to Korea, countries around the world participating in the Olympics have also started discussing vaccinations for athletes. Israel, Hungary, and Lithuania are already vaccinating athletes, and Mexico put athletes in the vaccination priority along with medical staff, seniors and teachers on the 18th of last month.
On the other hand, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy do not allow priority vaccination for athletes. It is to adhere to the principle that the vulnerable should be beaten first. However, it is highly likely that athletes and the general public will be vaccinated before the Olympics because relatively large quantities of vaccines are secured.
Park Kwan-gyu reporter [email protected]
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