Olympic Games to go ahead in Tokyo despite Japan experiencing its worst coronavirus surge
With Japan experiencing more than 6,000 Covid-19 cases daily, its worst coronavirus surge since a peak in January 2021, the Japanese government has announced that it will be slowly easing the Covid-19 state of emergency in the Games’ host city of Tokyo.
Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo in April 2021 when cases started to rise over the city threshold of 1,000. The government expanded this act to include other regions in May 2021 to include the archipelago of Okinawa.
The World Health Organization and other scientific and medical advisors are satisfactory with the Covid-19 measures outlined for the Olympics and will ensure for safe and secure Games ahead.
John Coates, Vice-President of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), said the Games would be held even if local health authorities were to advise against it, according to a report from Forbes.
In May 2021, the IOC announced that Pfizer and BioNTech would be donating coronavirus vaccine doses to athletes and country delegations before they travel to Japan.
Seiko Hashimoto, Games President for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, told BBC Sport: “The Japanese people are feeling very insecure and at the same time probably feel some frustration at us talking about the Olympics and I think that is giving rise to more voices opposing having the Games in Tokyo.
“The biggest challenge will be how we can control and manage the flow of people,” she added. “If an outbreak should happen during the Games times that amounts to a crisis or an emergency situation then I believe we must be prepared to have these Games without any spectators.
“We are trying to create as complete a bubble situation as soon as possible so we can create a safe and secure space for people who come in from overseas as well as people who are in Japan, the residents and citizens of Japan.”
Pharmaceutical network group creates initiative to address Covid-19 vaccination concerns in minority communities
In response to reported mistrust of the Covid-19 vaccine in some communities of color, Women of Color in Pharma (WOCIP), a network focused on promoting professional development for women of color in working in pharma, has created an initiative that aims to increase Covid-19 vaccine confidence.
WOCIP has created a Speakers Bureau called "We Are Pharma”, which will be comprised of Black and Latina women who work in the pharmaceutical industry. These women will speak to their communities in a culturally sensitive manner about the Covid-19 vaccine research and development process.
A spokesperson for WOCIP, said in statement: “The goal of the initiative is to serve black and brown communities to "de-mystify" the pharmaceutical industry, increase knowledge of pharmaceutical drug development and women of color leaders; and educate on Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial data.”
The initiative is focused on bridging the gap between the pharma industry and the communities it serves. A three-pronged framework is being utilized to create an accelerated and sustainable information exchange and informed decision making for women in minority communities.
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