The British athletes who do not want to get vaccinated against Covid-19 before the Tokyo Olympics are doing so over performance-related fears rather than an anti-vax stance, the Guardian understands.
The British Olympic Association remains confident that almost all its 370 or so Olympians will have two jabs before they fly to Japan, with only “a small handful” still remaining unconvinced.
It is believed the remaining holdouts are worried that the possible side effects of the vaccine – which can include tiredness, headaches and chills – might affect a crucial period of their training given the Games are due to begin in just under four weeks. However, the BOA remains hopeful they will change their minds.
Speaking to the BBC, the BOA chief executive, Andy Anson, said “well over 90%” of British athletes will have two vaccine doses by the Olympics. But he also admitted “there are individuals who didn’t want to be vaccinated”.
Anson said: “We’re trying to convince them it’s the right thing to do. People have got the right to choose, and we have to respect that. But it’s not necessarily that helpful.”
The BOA said this month that it was on track to ensure all athletes and staff were fully vaccinated before the Olympics. The Tokyo Games, delayed last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will begin on 23 July.
Japan has largely avoided the kind of Covid outbreaks that have devastated other countries, but its vaccine rollout was initially slow and the medical system has been pushed to the brink in some places.
Many Japanese remain sceptical about the possibility of holding even a scaled-down Games safely during the pandemic. Organisers have excluded foreign spectators and limited the size of domestic crowds for the event.
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Anson said the Athletes’ Village in Tokyo will be “probably the toughest environment in sports at this time”.
He said: “We are putting in place very strict protocols along with the organisers to make sure, to the fullest extent possible, we follow the rules of isolation, distancing and just keeping in our own ‘semi-bubbles’.”
On Wednesday a second member of Uganda’s Olympic delegation, an athlete, tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Japan.