Olympic wrestling champion says athletes shouldn't get vaccine first

Japan Times -- Jan 10

Canada’s Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe has said frontline workers and vulnerable people should be prioritized over Olympic athletes for the new coronavirus vaccine.

Senior International Olympic Committee official Dick Pound said on Friday athletes should be given priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine so the Tokyo Games can go ahead as scheduled from July 23.

Over 15,000 athletes from almost every country in the world are expected to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics and the subsequent Paralympics.

“I think the Olympic movement stands in its purity for a lot more than just putting athletes on stage to entertain the world,” Wiebe told the CBC.

“The most important people that need to get the vaccine are front-line workers, those most at risk and people in long-term care homes — they are the ones that need to be prioritized.