Japan rejects China’s offer of Covid-19 vaccines for Olympic athletes

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Japanese Olympic athletes will not take Covid-19 vaccines offered by China as these shots have not been approved in Japan, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa was quoted on as saying on Friday by  the country’s news broadcaster NHK.</p>
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The Chinese Olympic Committee offered vaccines for athletes participating in this year’s Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday.</p>
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The Tokyo Olympics have now been scheduled from July 23 to Aug. 8, after being postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>
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IOC President Thomas Bach’s announcement on China’s offer at an online session had come as a surprise to the organisers of the Tokyo games.</p>
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“I think that will be a decision for countries where Chinese vaccines have been approved,” NHK quoted Marukawa as telling a regular news conference, speaking on the issue of whether athletes would receive the vaccinations offered by China.</p>
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“I don’t know of any Chinese companies that have applied for approval in Japan,” she added, saying Japanese athletes would not be eligible.</p>
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“We are taking comprehensive anti-infection measures so that people can feel secure about participating in the Tokyo Games, even without a vaccination.  There is no change that we are proceeding on the assumption of people not getting vaccinations,” she added.</p>