IOC Member Dick Pound Says Athletes Should Be Prioritized for COVID-19 Vaccines | SwimSwam

By Jack McCormick on SwimSwam

Dick Pound, who has been one of the most visible members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since the beginning of the coronavirus shutdown, has said that he believes athletes should be moved to the front of the Covid-19 vaccine queue.

While Pound advocated for the prioritization of Olympic athletes, he did state that health care workers and those at most from the disease should receive the first treatments.

“Clearly health workers come first and the really vulnerable would be a close second. Then you start triaging how you would use the remaining dosages. And as I say, for the very, very small numbers involved and the very symbolic meaning of a successful Games in this context, my guess, and it’s only a guess, would be that most countries would be very much in favor of it. Both from a policy perspective and probably from the perspective of the public as well.”

Pound went on to state that he feels that the world would benefit from what he referred to as a “worldwide success” such as the Olympic Games.

Speaking specifically of his home country of Canada, Pound stated that, with only 300 to 400 vaccines being needed of the millions available, he didn’t feel as if there would be a public outcry if it ensures the country’s ability to participate in the Games.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are currently slated to kick off on July 23, 2021, following their year-long postponement due to coronavirus concerns. Last April Pound stated that,if the Games don’t occur in 2021 as currently planned, they won’t be able to occur at all.

Late last year, IOC president Thomas Bach said that he was ‘very confident’ that the Tokyo Olympics will go on in 2021.

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