Irish Olympic and Paralympic athletes to get Covid-19 vaccines

IRISH athletes and their support staff traveling to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralmypics will receive Covid-19 vaccines.

Vaccinations will be made available by Pfizer BioNTech following talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Finn Valley AC 50k race walker Brendan Boyce and Marlin’s Swimming Club’s Mona McSharry have booked their spots at the Olympic Games.

Later this month, Mark English will attempt to qualify in the men’s 800m while there was recent agony for Letterkenny AC’s Annmarie McGlynn, who narrowly missed out on qualification in the women’s marathon.

Olympic Federation of Ireland President Sarah Keane welcomed the news, which she called a ’significant breakthrough’.

She said: “It provides the athletes and support staff who work so hard to represent us internationally with the appropriate level of care in advance of the Games.

“Over recent months we have been very conscious of the wider issues around us in society and were working intensely to advocate for vaccination of the team at the appropriate time when those most vulnerable in society had come first.

“This breakthrough is a major relief for all of us given the significant challenges that we were facing and the lack of time remaining to find a resolution.”

During Games time, vaccination will be of crucial importance in providing protection for the team, and minimising, although not removing entirely, the risk of contagion and elimination from competition.” read the statement.

The news also alleviates the major duty of care dilemma that was being faced as a result of sending a team representing the country, into a known area of COVID 19 infection, particularly when many other teams, and the majority of those athletes expected in the Olympic village were expecting to be vaccinated through their own National agreements.

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