Athlete’s travelling to the Olympic and Paralympics will be offered Pfizer Biontech covid-19 vaccinations in the deal struck with the IOC and IPC.
Vaccinations for the accredited Irish Olympic and Paralympic athletes and support teams expecting to travel to Tokyo, which numbers in the low hundreds, will be made available directly by Pfizer Biontech
It will be supplementary to any existing delivery agreements between Pfizer and the Irish Government, which through the EU allocation, has increased very significantly in recent weeks.
“I would like to thank the IOC and IPC on behalf of Team Ireland for this very significant breakthrough” said Olympic Federation of Ireland President, Sarah Keane.
“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” added Keane.
“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. I take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Pfizer BionTech, the IOC and the IPC for helping to make this possible with the support of the Irish Government.”
“Today’s announcement from the IOC in relation to vaccinations for the Paralympic and Olympic Teams travelling to Tokyo is very welcome and our sincere thanks goes out to Pfizer Biontech, the IOC and IPC for the work they have done to make this possible” said President of Paralympics Ireland, John Fulham.
“To be able to provide the necessary level of care for our athletes and staff, as they seek to perform at the highest level, has been our primary concern”.
“We have been working tirelessly in seeking the best solutions, conscious of the broader societal pressures at this time, ensuring those most vulnerable took priority” added Keane.
“We look forward to working with our athletes, support staff, Olympic Colleagues, while being supported by our Government so our Teams can travel to Tokyo and be in the best and safest position to perform on the world stage. That is something for Ireland to look forward to.”
