OREANDA-NEWS. The International Olympic Committee signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech on giving athletes and delegations to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics with the Comirnaty coronavirus vaccine. It will be provided to all competitors.

IOC President Thomas Bach commented on cooperation with pharmaceutical companies: "This vaccine donation will be another step in our arsenal of measures taken at the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the safeness of all participants. It will also show solidarity with the hosts of the Games."

The IOC President added: "We ask all athletes and Olympic delegates to be an example and take the vaccine where and when possible. We want to thank Pfizer and BioNTech for this very generous donation to support the vaccination of athletes and participants in the lead up to the Games."

On May 5, Bach noted that the possible introduction of a state of emergency in Japan will not influence the preparation of the Games in Japan and their holding. He also expressed confidence that most of the athletes who came to the competition will arrive in the Land of the Rising Sun already vaccinated.

According to the head of the Olympic Committee, many countries have already announced that the participants of the 2020 Olympics are vaccinated. True, Bach could not clearly answer the question of how the emergency regime and the filling of the stands at the Olympic competitions would be combined.