Pfizer, BioNTech donate COVID vaccines to Olympic athletes

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech have agreed to donate COVID-19 vaccines to athletes and staff of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, which will be held this year after being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Thursday.

"As part of the plans to ensure a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to donate doses of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine to Games participants from National Olympic and Paralympic Committees around the world," the IOC said on its website.

"National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will work with their local governments to coordinate local distribution in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations," it added.

The IOC noted that it is expected that a significant proportion of games participants would have been vaccinated before arriving in Japan "based on the feedback from the NOCs and NPCs (National Paralympic Committees).”

The games are scheduled to take place from July 23 to Aug. 8 but without foreign spectators due to safety measures.