Olympic-bound athletes, officials to receive second dose of COVID-19 vaccine after four weeks, says IOA

New Delhi: The gap between two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for Olympic-bound athletes and officials has been set to four weeks by the Ministry of Health, informed Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra on Monday. Batra has communicated the same to national sports federations. “All NSFs whose Athletes have qualified for Tokyo Olympics. Letter has been issued by Ministry of Health Government of India, that in the case of Tokyo Bound Athletes and officials, the second dose of vaccination will be done after 4 weeks of 1st dose of vaccination,” Batra said in a statement. Last month, a government panel had recommended that the dosage interval of Serum Insititute of India’s Covishield vaccine be increased to 12-16 weeks. However, the gap between the two doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is four weeks. The IOA on Sunday had said 120 athletes and 27 para-athletes have so far received at least one dose of the vaccine. The body said that there are 62 fully vaccinated athletes, including four para-athletes. From among coaches and support staff members, 114 have received their first shots while 37 are fully vaccinated. The body had also urged five Olympic-bound sportspersons, who have recovered from COVID-19 in the recent past, to take their first dose of the vaccine as soon as possible. The Tokyo Olympics will open on 23 July.