Athlete vaccinations no burden on Australian public system – AOC chief

The Australian Olympic Committee will start vaccinating Tokyo-bound athletes against COVID-19 next week using a private contractor to avoid burdening the public health system, chief executive Matt Carroll said on Wednesday.

The Australian government on Tuesday approved the vaccination of more than 2,000 athletes, coaches and officials nominated by the AOC and Paralympics Australia before they travel to Japan for the Olympics and Paralympics.

“Planning is now full steam ahead,” Carroll told reporters in Sydney.

“The management of the vaccination will be done by the AOC with our partner Aspen Medical so there’s no load on the public system whatsoever. And we’ll commence that next week.”

Sports Minister Richard Colbeck on Wednesday defended the decision to give the Olympians access to the vaccine when some people at higher risk have not received their shots.

“We’ve always prioritised the vulnerable, and that’s why they were the first that were given access to the vaccines, and that process continues,” he told ABC radio.

“But it was always anticipated that there would be overlaps in the various stages. (We included) the athletes and support staff in … the rollout … in support of the athletes being able to compete (as) safely as possible in the Games.”