THE Australian Government announced yesterday after a special National Cabinet meeting that Olympic participants would be vaccinated under a priority group, which includes healthcare workers, Indigenous people aged over 55 and people older than 70.

The vaccination program for athletes and support staff will include about 2,000 people, including an estimated 450- 480 Olympic athletes, and could start as early as next week.

Richard Colbeck, the government minister for aged care, senior Australians and for sports, said the decision would not come at the cost of at-risk Australians.

“While vulnerable Australians remain an absolute priority as the vaccine rollout continues, National Cabinet understands the pressure our high-performance athletes have been facing as the Tokyo Games draw closer,” Colbeck said in a statement.

Some 1,969,337 vaccine doses have been administered in Australia, 205,203 of which were given in aged and disability care facilities.

Members of the Olympic contingent aged over 50 will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, while those under 50 will be given the Pfizer vaccine.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said the team would be vaccinated by a private provider “to ensure the vaccination of our athletes does not place any additional load on the public system.”(SD-Agencies)