The International Olympic Committee is confident about conducting the Tokyo Olympics 2021, but the chorus against the Games is growing louder. Adding to the list of several Japanese citizens against the mega event, a renowned virologist has warned against the risks involved. Hiroshi Oshitani, professor at Tohoku University, hinted at the fact that the post-event complications could be severe.

“The government and the organising committee, including the IOC (International Olympic Committee), keep saying they’re holding a safe Olympics. But everybody knows there is a risk. It’s 100 per cent impossible to have an Olympics with zero risk…of the spread of infection in Japan and also in other countries after the Olympics. There are a number of countries that do not have many cases, and a number that don’t have any variants. We should not make the Olympics to spread the virus to these countries,” Oshitani told The Times London.

But Tara Kirk Sell, a former Olympian and currently professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, believes things are not going to go out of hand. “There will be cases, but having one case or a couple of cases doesn’t mean that it was a failure,” Sell told Reuters.

Four-week gap between jabs for Indian Olympians

The gap between two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for Olympic-bound athletes and officials has been set to four weeks by the Union ministry of health, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra informed 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 the Ministry of Health Government of India, that in the case of Tokyo Bound Athletes and officials, the 2nd 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 Institute 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 Tokyo Olympics will open on July 23, and continue till August 8.