South Africa to vaccinate athletes ahead of Tokyo Olympic games

FILE PHOTO: A health worker holds a vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, at the Munsieville Care for the Aged Centre outside Johannesburg, South Africa May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African athletes due to participate in this year's Tokyo Olympics will receive COVID-19 shots during a vaccination rollout that has so far prioritised the elderly and frontline workers, the country's medicine authority said on Tuesday.

Tokyo is due to host the Games from July 23 to Aug. 8 after they were postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.