WARSAW, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Poland will inoculate their Olympic athletes and the national football team against COVID-19, the Polish government confirmed on Wednesday.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during the press conference that the Olympic athletes would be inoculated before they go to Tokyo.
"Coronavirus is an extremely dangerous, fatal disease that can affect anyone, almost at any time, so to provide comfort to our athletes who are to give us joy and hope in Tokyo, we decided to vaccinate the entire Olympic team, also our national football team, which will represent Poland during the European Championship. I hope and wish that we can listen to our anthem every day in Tokyo," Morawiecki said Wednesday.
The Polish Olympic Committee has already sent the list of names to the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage, and Sport.
"There are players, coaches, physiotherapists, doctors, psychologists, and statisticians on the list. A lot of people work with athletes. We sent the names of athletes from a wide Olympic line-up. This is the number of about 600 competitors and 400 accompanying people. These are the ones who may appear in Japan. We also want to vaccinate those fighting for Olympic qualifications," Andrzej Krasinicki, the president of the Polish Olympic Committee, said at the press conference.
More than one thousand people will be vaccinated ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, while the Polish national football team will receive over 60 vaccines.
The president of the Polish Football Association, Zbigniew Boniek, was pleased with the fact that the football players will also be under protection.
"We should be proud that as a country we want to vaccinate the best athletes. This move will show everyone that this is the only way to win the pandemic. We play together. Sport connects us all," Boniek said.
The Olympic Games start in July, while the first match of the UEFA Euro tournament is scheduled for June. Enditem