Summer Olympics - Japan

I don’t think they should to be honest - and we have yet to see the effects of the Indian variant there.

I remember reading an article after the 2018 Olympics about the record amount of condoms given out to the athletes and I believe it is because of the std transmission rate usually seen during the events. So I am thinking if std's run rampant I can't imagine what would happen with covid.

There's too much money at stake for Japan to bow out of hosting them at this stage in my opinion. There's been serious backlash from the Japanese people (with good reason) for weeks now and nothing has changed. They'll create an oversized bubble for the athletes and teams and hope for the best. It's going to be a nightmare to manage.

The athletes have a lot to lose here if they aren't fully vaccinated by the time the Games begin. No other country has the vaccination protection the US delegation will be able to provide their staff and athletes so I fear for possible clusters and career-altering side-effects.

Pfizer-BioNTech are donating doses to vaccinate athletes + delegations but it's still going to be a hassle to get all of these people injected with the varying degrees of health coverage and ease of access for quite a few of the countries represented in the Games. And then there will be those who refuse to get vaccinated, too. What a headache.

I think it should be cancelled but I know the Japanese govt wants it to go on. They have poured so much money into this.

I do feel for the athletes. This may be the only Olympics for many of them. But the athletes do party hard at these games. I don’t know how they’ll protect them all in a bubble, especially when many come from countries that are not heavily vaccinated.

I hate to say it, because I have really been looking forward to the Olympics, but I think they should cancel.

I heard on NPR today that an organization of 6,000 Japanese doctors called for the cancellation of the games.

I heard the hospitals are at capacity in many of the more remote Olympic venues.

I’m surprised that it isn’t a requirement that all athletes be vaccinated. However, I do think they will have very strict rules for the athletes and no family will be going with them.

ETA that I just looked at the numbers and it appears that even though they are high for where Japan has been, they are quite a hit lower than most places in the US.

I heard on NPR today that the drug companies have offered to provide all the athletes w/ vaccines. However, that is controversial because in some of the countries where the athletes are coming from, health care workers haven’t even had the chance to be vaccinated. Also, I wondered if an unvaccinated athlete would even want to risk the side effects of the vaccine so close to the Olympics.

The other concern is that although there will be no spectators, 90,000 volunteers from Japan will be required  to help w/ the Olympics. Only a small percentage of the population in Japan has been vaccinated, so presumably, most of those volunteers will not have been vaccinated. I suppose they could be vaccinated, but again you would have the issue of whether those Olympic volunteers should get the vaccine when more high risk citizens haven’t had the opportunity to be vaccinated. 

I don't think they should go ahead. It's far too risky as things are at the moment, globally. Some countries are better than others but that means nothing when everyone is mixed together. Japan, the last time I checked, also doesn't have a very high vaccination record - they're pretty low down the number list, about 3% according to this report LINK

Why can't they cancel and just reschedule for next year in Japan? I know that throws off the every 4 years schedule, but we are talking about a pandemic and a virus that can kill you! Isn't saving people's lives more important than when this event is held? 

Can you imagine all of these athletes from different countries mixing together and the different strains of the virus (like the India strain) traveling freely back to other countries. It's exactly what a virus would want and a great way for it to survive and spread. 

Yes, sleepingbooty, agreed sadly. It'll happen and thousands and thousands of people will bear the consequences afterwards.

Agreed. I would love to think they’ll be strict and superbly organised but inevitably there will be difficulties pulling that off and with people towing the line while there and back home afterwards. All we can do is watch and hope!

On the other hand we could get back to the Summer and Winter Olympics being in the same year every year instead of every two years! Yeah right wishful thinking. I hope they are able to have them with as minimal risk as possible.