Tokyo Olympic Games staff begin receiving vaccines
Officials and volunteers working on the Tokyo Olympics started receiving Covid-19 vaccinations on Friday, five weeks before the games are set to start.
Pfizer are providing enough doses for 40,000 people, in an effort separate to Japan's national vaccination drive.
The opening ceremony for the games, originally meant to happen last year, will take place on 23 July.
There is ongoing debate in the country on whether domestic fans will be allowed to attend the games.
The country's leading medical experts say it would be safest if all fans are not allowed but other officials have indicated they want spectators to attend if possible.
The games are still scheduled to go ahead despite a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases in Japan in recent months.
A state of emergency in Tokyo is set to be lifted on Sunday, but polls in local media suggest public scepticism to the games going ahead remains high amid a slow vaccine roll-out.
Only about 16% of the country's population have received one Covid-19 dose so far, according to the Reuters news agency.
The vaccine doses allocated for games officials have been supplied by Pfizer as part of a deal agreed with the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government.
Those being vaccinated include volunteers and staff working at the athletes village and members of the media covering the games.
"Now that I will be vaccinated, I will feel a little more reassured doing my job," Chika Hirai, director of doping control for Tokyo 2020, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
