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IOC to pay for extra doses of COVID-19 vaccine for athletes

The International Olympics Committee (IOC) and China will offer COVID-19 vaccines for athletes participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to the Associated Press.

The IOC made the announcement Thursday, saying it would pay for the "extra doses" for athletes in both the Olympics and Paralympics. IOC president Thomas Bach said the IOC would pay for additional doses so that the general public in the countries that participate can also receive vaccines.

“The IOC will pay for two doses more, which can be made available for the population in the respective country according to their needs,” Bach said.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are set to begin July 23, 2021. The event was initially supposed to occur last year, but was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite taking place in 2021, the event will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Can the 2020 Tokyo Olympics be held safely?

In January, the Tokyo Olympics committee said it was trying to "simplify" the games to prevent COVID-19 transmission. Over 15,000 athletes from various countries will be present at the games. In addition to that, media, volunteers and spectators will be present. There are reports that foreign fans will be banned from the event, however.

Global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines should make the games safer, though Japan has been slow in its rollout. Japan started vaccinating citizens in February. It took the country two months to approve Pfizer's version of the vaccine.

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