The British Olympic Association (BOA) has confirmed all athletes and support staff will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before leaving for Japan ahead of this year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The BOA is set to secure the vaccines after the International Olympic Committee struck a deal with Pfizer BioNtech to donate doses to athletes heading to the Games.
Under the terms of the agreement, National Olympic Committees will be tasked with coordinating distribution with their respective Governments "in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations".
More than 37.5 million people have received the first dose in Britain with 32.5 per cent of the country’s population fully vaccinated.
The BOA said the IOC’s inoculation scheme means British athletes will not impact the country’s supplies.
"The UK Government has confirmed that, through an agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Pfizer BioNtech, Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes and support staff will be fully vaccinated ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, based on the unique position of having to travel to Japan to go about their work," a statement from the BOA read.
The IOC has said vaccination will not be mandatory for athletes to compete at Tokyo 2020 but expects a "significant number" of participants will have received the jab before the Games.
Earlier this week, IOC President Thomas Bach claimed that more than 80 per cent of people in the Athletes' Village would be vaccinated.
The Chinese Olympic Committee has also offered to vaccinate Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 teams, with the IOC paying for the cost of each dose.
They will only be available in territories which have approved the Chinese vaccines for use, which will also be the case as part of the IOC's deal with Pfizer.
Pfizer, whose vaccine was the first in the world to be approved for use, made the offer during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, before reaching the agreement with the IOC.
Athletes and all those with close proximity to competitors will be tested daily and everyone at the Games will be required to take two COVID-19 tests within 96 hours before they fly to Japan.
Visits to restaurants and bars have been banned, while athletes have been told to arrive no earlier than five days before their event and depart no later than two days after to limit the number of people at the Athletes' Village.
IOC vice-president John Coates said that it was now "clearer than ever" that the Games would be safe for everyone participating, as well as the general public in Japan.
Private organisations are also set to conduct COVID-19 testing during the Games to keep supply separate from the public system.
Britain will be seeking to finish in the top three in the medal table for the third successive Olympics after registering 65 medals at London 2012 and 67 at Rio 2016.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8, before the Paralympics take place between August 24 and September 5.