Vietnamese organizers will enforce a “no vaccine, no participation” policy for all national athletes and coaches participating in the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games from November 21 to December 2.
The Vietnam SEA Games Organizing Committee made the announcement during an online SEA Games Federation meeting on Tuesday, according to Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
Tolentino said Vietnamese organizers assured in the meeting that the SEA Games will push through but stressed the vaccine policy.
“Their policy [no vaccine, no participation policy] is for the good of everyone,” said Tolentino, who wrote the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to prioritize the inoculation of SEA Games-bound delegates, especially athletes and coaches.
“Most of the athletes from our Southeast Asian counterparts are already vaccinated and we’re the only country that is left behind,” Tolentino said. “But we already wrote the IATF to prioritize the SEA Games-bound delegates. We’re ready to take any vaccine [brand].”
The POC intends to send 626 athletes to the SEA Games. They will participate in all but one of the 40 sports on the Hanoi program.
Tolentino said that the national sports associations have been advised to identify the athletes, who will be prioritized for the vaccination program.
“Before we fly to Vietnam, everyone should be vaccinated,” Tolentino said. “Or better yet, before the NSAs start training their athletes face-to-face.”
Tolentino said the POC has a $40,000 (P1.9 million) grant from the Olympic Council of Asia that would be used to purchase the vaccines.
POC first vice president Al Panlilio, tasked to purchase the vaccines, assured that the entire delegation would be inoculated as soon as the vaccines are available.
Only Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes Eumir Felix Marcial and Hidilyn Diaz have already been vaccinated.