The Finnish Olympic Committee has announced that all Finnish athletes and staff travelling to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer will be vaccinated against coronavirus before departure.
In a statement, the committee said the vaccination of athletes has been agreed with Finnish authorities and there will be no additional costs for the Finnish state.
"Some Olympic team staff do have time to get vaccinated as part of the national vaccination programme. Those who do not have time will receive the vaccine through the IOC. This will not be a burden to the municipalities or to the national vaccination programme," the committee's Secretary General, Mikko Salonen,said in the press release.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has offered to fund vaccines for all athletes going to the Olympics.
"Vaccination based on an agreement between the IOC, Pfizer and BioNTech will significantly improve the health safety of the Games and also of the Finnish team," the Olympic Committee's Chief Physician Maarit Valtonen said.
The vaccination of Olympic athletes is expected to begin in early June, with the games scheduled to begin on 23 July.
