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Despite being postponed to 2021, the Olympic Games are dominated by the corona crisis
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Will athletes be vaccinated before the Olympic Games?
The chairman of the sports committee of the German Bundestag, Dagmar Freitag (SPD), has rejected this.
"Here a perfectly understandable wish meets reality," said Freitag to the sports information service.
Previously, the President of the World Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Thomas Weikert, demanded that athletes be vaccinated after the risk groups.
"That should be done by the end of May at the latest," Weikert told the news agency.
A scenario that is currently unrealistic for Friday in view of the delivery bottlenecks in Germany as well.
"We see every day how difficult it is to get a functioning vaccination infrastructure going," she said.
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Finds the ITTF's proposal currently unrealistic: Dagmar Freitag
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“As a consequence, from my point of view, there is no need to discuss whether athletes can be vaccinated from the beginning of May,” Friday said.
"From my point of view, there is nothing to be said against discussing the topic again in due course depending on the actual development."
NOKs should contact governments
German sport has so far been cautious and has not made any demand for a preference for athletes.
But time is running out until the Olympic Games start in Tokyo on July 23.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently asked the National Olympic Committee (NOK) to obtain a comprehensive picture from the governments.
If enough vaccine is available, the IOC will help national committees get vaccinations well in advance of traveling to Japan.
"A number" of governments have already made "positive decisions" on vaccination, the IOC said.
The World Health Organization (WHO), on the other hand, does not see a priority for the Olympic Games.
The games are "a wonderful symbol", but you have to face the realities, said the director of the emergency program at the WHO, Michael Ryan.
There is currently not even enough vaccine to help "even the most vulnerable people."
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