National athletes get COVID-19 vaccination as they bid for Olympic qualification

SINGAPORE — Singapore has been progressively arranging COVID-19 vaccination for national athletes who are bidding to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

This is due to the athletes having to travel overseas frequently for qualifying competitions in the coming months.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (24 February) that the vaccinations will ensure the athletes remain safe ahead of their overseas travels, and can focus on their competitions.

"We must support our athletes as they travel, train, and compete for Singapore on a global stage," he wrote in his post.

Tong had earlier said in a media engagement session in January that while frontline workers and seniors remain "front of the queue" in Singapore's national vaccination drive, his ministry are working within that framework to see what can be done for the national athletes bidding for Olympic qualification.

Shooters, shuttlers, paddlers being vaccinated

On Wednesday, Tong joined three national shooters – Adele Tan, Tessa Neo and Ho Xiu Yi – and their coach in getting their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

The three shooters had planned to travel to South Korea in April to compete in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup. While the event has since been postponed, the shooters will also be taking part in other qualifying events for a place at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which is scheduled to be held from 23 July to 8 August.

Three other national shooters – Martina Veloso, Teo Shun Xie and Teh Xiu Hong – have been vaccinated earlier in the month, ahead of their trip to New Delhi for the ISSF World Cup stop next month.

National shuttler Loh Kean Yew and paddlers Koen Pang and Zeng Jian were also inoculated earlier this month, while Tokyo-bound table tennis players Yu Mengyu and Lin Ye will be vaccinated when they return from competition in Qatar in April.

全国运动员申办奥运会资格获得COVID-19疫苗

新加坡—新加坡一直在逐步为希望申办即将到来的东京奥运会的国家运动员安排COVID-19疫苗接种。

这是因为在接下来的几个月中，运动员必须经常出国参加资格赛。

文化，社区和青年事务部长唐永生在2月24日星期三的Facebook帖子中说，接种疫苗将确保运动员在出国旅行之前保持安全，并可以专注于比赛。

他在文章中写道：“我们必须在全球舞台上为我们的运动员旅行，训练和争夺新加坡提供支持。”

Tong早些时候在1月份的媒体参与会议上说，虽然一线工人和老年人在新加坡国家疫苗接种工作中仍处于“队列中”，但他的政府部门正在该框架内进行研究，以了解对申办奥林匹克运动会的国家运动员可以采取的措施。资格。

射击者，穿梭者，桨手正在接种疫苗

周三，Tong与三名国家射手-阿黛尔·谭，泰莎·尼奥和何秀仪-以及他们的教练一起在国家传染病中心获得了第一剂COVID-19疫苗。

这三名射手计划于四月前往韩国参加国际射击运动联合会（ISSF）世界杯。尽管该赛事已被推迟，但射手们还将参加其他排位赛，参加定于7月23日至8月8日举行的东京夏季奥运会。

本月早些时候，另外三个国家射手Martina Veloso，Teo Shun Xie和Teh Xiu Hong已经接种了疫苗，在下个月前往新德里参加ISSF世界杯足球赛之前。

本月早些时候，还对国家羽毛球运动员卢建耀和桨手Koen Pang和Zeng Jian进行了接种，而前往东京的乒乓球运动员Yu Mengyu和Lin Ye将在4月从卡塔尔的比赛归来时接种疫苗。