Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Thursday, March 11, 2021, said that China will provide additional vaccines to athletes and officials of both the Tokyo Olympic and Beijing Paralympic Winter Games.
Bach made the statement at the 137th session of the IOC session held virtually in Lausanne. “The IOC has received a kind offer from the Chinese Olympic Committee, the host of the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. The offer is to make additional vaccine doses available to participants in both editions of 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games.”
He said that the Chinese vaccine doses will be available in two different ways, in collaboration with international partners, or directly to those countries and regions where agreements with Chinese vaccines are in place.
Bach praised it as a “milestone” to ensure the games are secured and safe. “We are grateful for the offer, which is in the true Olympic spirit of solidarity,” the IOC president said.
Bach added that the IOC will pay for the additional doses not only for the Olympic but also for the Paralympic teams.
He added that for each of the additional doses of the Olympic or Paralympic teams, the IOC will pay for two doses more which can be made available for participants in the respective countries and regions according to their needs.
“These initiatives are another milestone in ensuring the security and safety of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Bach said.
He concluded that the IOC firmly supports the fair distribution of vaccines among every country and region in the world as it also signed the declaration initiated by World Health Organization on the issue.
18/03/2021. ISSUE NO: 8023