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On Wednesday, IOC boss Thomas Bach surprised with the news that the IOC would buy vaccines in China
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LAURENT GILLIERON / EPA
Japan will not take advantage of China's vaccination offer for the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer in Tokyo (July 23 to August 8) and in Beijing in 2022.
As Japan's Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said on Friday, Japan had not been consulted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese athletes would not take the vaccine, which is not approved in Japan or the EU.
The National Olympic Committee of China wants to provide vaccine doses for the participants of the two major events, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Thursday.
The IOC will buy it.
How many cans should be bought at what price remained open.
On Friday, the IOC then specified that the offer was only aimed at those countries in which the Chinese vaccine was also approved.
"We have taken extensive measures against infectious diseases for the Tokyo Games to enable participation without vaccinations," Marukawa said.
"Our principle of not making vaccinations a prerequisite will not change anything."
In a first reaction on Thursday, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) also stated that the offer would not be accepted and that German athletes would only use vaccines that were also approved for the European Union.
So far, this does not apply to the vaccine from China.
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ngo / dpa / sid
